High efficiency video coding device and method based on reference picture type

ABSTRACT

The present technique relates to an image processing device and method capable of suppressing a decrease in encoding efficiency. The image processing device includes: a predictive vector generating unit that generates a predictive vector of a current parallax vector of a current block used in prediction using correlation in a parallax direction using a reference parallax vector referred when generating a predictive motion vector, when encoding the current parallax vector; and a difference vector generating unit that generates a difference vector between the current parallax vector and the predictive vector generated by the predictive vector generating unit. The present disclosure can be applied to an image processing device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 120of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/028,394, titled “HIGH EFFICIENCYVIDEO CODING DEVICE AND METHOD BASED ON REFERENCE PICTURE TYPE,” filedon Jul. 5, 2018, which is a continuation of and claims the benefit under35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/128,091, titled“HIGH EFFICIENCY VIDEO CODING DEVICE AND METHOD BASED ON REFERENCEPICTURE TYPE,” filed on Dec. 20, 2013, which is a U.S. National StageApplication under 35 U.S.C. § 371, based on International ApplicationNo. PCT/JP2012/066582, filed Jun. 28, 2012, which claims priority toJapanese Patent Applications JP 2012-099056, filed Apr. 24, 2012, JP2012-009223, filed Jan. 19, 2012, and JP 2011-145564, filed on Jun. 30,2011, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an image processing device and animage processing method. Specifically, the present disclosure relates toan image processing device and an image processing method capable ofimproving encoding efficiency.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, devices, which handle image information as digitaldata, which, in such a case, aim to transmit and store information witha high efficiency, and which conform to a scheme such as MPEG (MovingPicture Experts Group), for compressing image information usingorthogonal transformation, such as discrete cosine transformation, andusing motion compensation by utilizing redundancy that is unique to theimage information have become widespread in both informationdistribution in broadcasting stations and information reception inordinary homes.

In particular, MPEG2 (International Organization for Standardization andInternational Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 13818-2) is definedas a general-purpose image encoding scheme and is presently widely usedin a wide range of applications for professional use and consumer use asstandards for both interlaced-scanning images and sequential scanningimages and standard and high-definition images. By employing the MPEG2compression scheme, for example, a coding rate (bit rate) of 4 to 8 Mbpsis allocated for an interlaced-scanning image of a standard resolutionwith 720×480 pixels, and a coding rate (bit rate) of 18 to 22 Mbps isallocated for an interlaced-scanning image of a high resolution with1920×1088 pixels. As a result, a high compression ratio and a good imagequality can be realized.

The MPEG2 has been mainly intended for high-image-quality encodingappropriate for broadcasting, but was not compatible with an encodingscheme for realizing a lower coding rate (bit rate) (a highercompression ratio) than that of MPEG1. With the popularity of mobileterminals, the demand for such an encoding scheme is expected toincrease in the future. To respond this, standardization of MPEG4encoding schemes have been confirmed. With regard to an image encodingscheme, the specification thereof was confirmed as the internationalstandard ISO/IEC 14496-2 in December in 1998.

In addition, in recent years, originally for the purpose of video codingfor television conferencing, standardization of specifications of astandard called H.26L (ITU-T (International Telecommunication UnionTelecommunication Standardization Sector) Q6/16 VCEG (Video CodingExpert Group)) has progressed. H.26L is known to achieve higher encodingefficiency although it requires a greater amount of computations forencoding and decoding than conventional encoding schemes such as MPEG2and MPEG4. Moreover, currently, as part of the activity of MPEG4,standardization for incorporating functions, which are not supported byH.26L, into the H.26L is performed as Joint Model ofEnhanced-Compression Video Coding to realize high encoding efficiency.

The schedule of standardization showed that, it became an internationalstandard under the name of H.264 and MPEG-4 Part 10 (Advanced VideoCoding, hereinafter referred to as AVC) in March, 2003.

However, setting the size of a macroblock to 16×16 pixels is not optimalfor a large image frame named UHD (Ultra High Definition; 4000×2000pixels) that will become an object of the next generation encodingscheme.

Thus, the standardization of an encoding system called HEVC (HighEfficiency Video Coding) has been currently developed by JCTVC (JointCollaboration Team-Video Coding), which is a joint standardizationorganization of ITU-T and ISO/IEC, for the purpose of further improvingthe encoding efficiency compared to AVC (for example, see Non-PatentDocument 1).

In the HEVC encoding scheme, a coding unit (CU) is defined as the sameprocessing unit as the macroblock in the AVC scheme. The size of CU isnot fixed to 16×16 pixels unlike the macroblock of the AVC scheme but isdesignated in image compression information in respective sequences.

However, in order to improve encoding of motion vectors using medianprediction defined in the AVC scheme, a method that allows “temporalpredictor” and “spatio-temporal predictor” as well as “spatialpredictor” to be used as candidates for predictive motion vectors hasbeen taken into consideration (for example, see Non-Patent Document 2).

Moreover, a method called motion partition merging in which merge_flagand merge_left_flag are transmitted is proposed as one of encodingschemes for motion information (for example, see Non-Patent Document 3).

CITATION LIST Non-Patent Document

-   Non-Patent Document 1: Thomas Wiegand, Woo-Jin Han, Benjamin Bross,    Jens-Rainer Ohm, Gary J. Sullivan, “Working Draft 1 of    High-Efficiency Video Coding”, JCTVC-C403, Joint Collaborative Team    on Video Coding (JCT-VC) of ITU-T SG16 WP3 and ISO/IEC    JTC1/SC29/WG11 3rd Meeting: Guangzhou, CN, 7-15 Oct. 2010-   Non-Patent Document 2: Joel Jung, Guillaume Laroche,    “Competition-Based Scheme for Motion Vector Selection and Coding,”    VCEG-AC06, ITU-Telecommunications Standardization Sector STUDY GROUP    16 Question 6, Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) 29th Meeting:    Klagenfurt, Austria, 17-18 Jul. 2006-   Non-Patent Document 3: Martin Winken, Sebastian Bosse, Benjamin    Bross, Philipp Helle, Tobias Hinz, Heiner Kirchhoffer, Haricharan    Lakshman, Detlev Marpe, Simon Oudin, Matthias Preiss, Heiko Schwarz,    Mischa Siekmann, Karsten Suehring, and Thomas Wiegand, “Description    of video coding technology proposed by Fraunhofer HHI,” JCTVC-A116,    April, 2010

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

However, these techniques illustrate processes in the same view only andcannot perform inter-view vector prediction in the case of multi-viewencoding. Thus, encoding efficiency may decrease.

The present disclosure is made in view of the situations, and aims tosuppress a decrease in the encoding efficiency.

Solutions to Problems

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided animage processing device including: a predictive vector generating unitthat generates a predictive vector of a current parallax vector of acurrent block used in prediction using correlation in a parallaxdirection using a reference parallax vector referred when generating apredictive motion vector, when encoding the current parallax vector; anda difference vector generating unit that generates a difference vectorbetween the current parallax vector and the predictive vector generatedby the predictive vector generating unit.

The predictive vector generating unit may generate a predictive vectorof the current parallax vector using a parallax vector of a co-locatedblock included in a co-located picture of a time different from acurrent picture of the same view as a current view.

The predictive vector generating unit may set the co-located block to beavailable when a property of a vector of the current block is identicalto a property of a vector of the co-located block.

The property of the vector is a type of a vector, and the predictivevector generating unit may set the co-located block to be available whenthe property of the vector of the current block is a parallax vector andthe property of the vector of the co-located block is a parallax vector.

The predictive motion vector generating unit may determine the propertyof the vector of the current block and the property of the vector of theco-located block using POC (Picture Order Count) that indicates anoutput order of pictures.

The predictive motion vector generating unit may determine the propertyof the vector of the current block and the property of the vector of theco-located block using the POC of the current picture, the POC of acurrent reference picture referred from the current picture, the POC ofthe co-located picture, and the POC of a co-located reference picturereferred from the co-located picture.

The predictive motion vector generating unit may determine that theproperty of the vector of the current block and the property of thevector of the co-located block are parallax vectors when the POC of thecurrent picture is identical to the POC of the current reference picturereferred from the current picture and the POC of the co-located pictureis identical to the POC of the co-located reference picture referredfrom the co-located picture.

The predictive vector generating unit may set the co-located block to benot available when the property of the vector of the current block isdifferent from the property of the vector of the co-located block.

The property of the vector is a type of a reference picture, and thepredictive vector generating unit may set the co-located block to be notavailable when the type of the reference picture of the current block isdifferent from the type of the reference picture of the co-locatedblock.

The property of the vector is a type of a reference picture, and thepredictive vector generating unit may skip a process of searching areference index when the type of the reference picture of the currentblock is a long reference type and the type of the reference picture ofthe co-located block is a long reference type.

The predictive vector generating unit may generate a predictive vectorof the current parallax vector using a parallax vector of a referenceblock included in a picture of the same time as a current picture of aview different from the current view.

The predictive vector generating unit may scale the reference parallaxvector based on a positional relationship between a current picture anda reference picture referred when generating a predictive motion vectorto generate a predictive vector of the current parallax vector.

The predictive vector generating unit may generate a predictive vectorof the current motion vector using a reference motion vector referredwhen generating a predictive motion vector, when encoding the currentmotion vector of the current block used in prediction using correlationin a temporal direction, and the difference vector generating unit maygenerate a difference vector between the current motion vector and thepredictive vector generated by the predictive vector generating unit.

The predictive vector generating unit may generate the predictive vectorof the current motion vector using a motion vector of the referenceblock included in a picture of the same time as the current picture of aview different from the current view.

The predictive vector generating unit may generate a predictive vectorof the current motion vector using a motion vector of a reference blockincluded in a picture of a time different from the current picture ofthe same view as the current view.

The predictive vector generating unit may scale the reference motionvector based on a positional relationship between the current pictureand a reference picture referred when generating a predictive motionvector to generate a predictive vector of the current motion vector.

The predictive vector generating unit may generate the predictive vectorusing a vector of a block located at the same position as the currentblock in a state where a position of a pixel of a picture of the sametime as the current picture of a view different from the current view isshifted.

The predictive vector generating unit may set a shift amount of theimage according to a parallax vector of a neighboring region of thecurrent block.

The predictive vector generating unit may use a parallax vector in anX-direction, of the neighboring block in which the value of a parallaxvector in a Y-direction is not zero as the shift amount.

The predictive vector generating unit may use a value calculated fromparallax vectors in an X-direction, of a plurality of the neighboringblocks in which the value of a parallax vector in a Y-direction is notzero as the shift amount.

The predictive vector generating unit may use an average value or amedian value of the parallax vectors in the X-direction, of theplurality of the neighboring blocks in which the value of the parallaxvector in the Y-direction is not zero as the shift amount of the image.

The predictive vector generating unit may set the shift amount of theimage according to a global parallax vector.

Further, according to an aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided an image processing method of an image processing device, forallowing the image processing device to execute: generating a predictivevector of a current parallax vector of a current block used inprediction using correlation in a parallax direction using a referenceparallax vector referred when generating a predictive motion vector,when encoding the current parallax vector; and generating a differencevector between the current parallax vector and the generated predictivevector.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is providedan image processing device including: a predictive vector generatingunit that generates a predictive vector of a current parallax vector ofa current block used in prediction using correlation in a parallaxdirection using a reference parallax vector referred when generating apredictive motion vector, when decoding the current parallax vector; andan arithmetic unit that performs an operation of adding the predictivevector generated by the predictive vector generating unit to adifference vector between the current parallax vector and the predictivevector to reconstruct the current parallax vector.

Further, according to another aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided an image processing method of an image processing device, forallowing the image processing device to execute: generating a predictivevector of a current parallax vector of a current block used inprediction using correlation in a parallax direction using a referenceparallax vector referred when generating a predictive motion vector,when decoding the current parallax vector; and performing an operationof adding the generated predictive vector to a difference vector betweenthe current parallax vector and the predictive vector to reconstruct thecurrent parallax vector.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided an image processing device including: a predictive vectorgenerating unit that sets a co-located block to be not available when atype of a reference picture of a current block is different from a typeof the reference picture of a co-located block included in a co-locatedpicture of a different time from a current picture when encoding acurrent motion vector of the current block used in prediction usingcorrelation in a temporal direction and generates a predictive vector ofthe current motion vector using a reference motion vector referred whengenerating a predictive motion vector; and a difference vectorgenerating unit that generates a difference vector between the currentmotion vector and the predictive vector generated by the predictivevector generating unit.

Further, according to still another aspect of the present disclosure,there is provided an image processing method of an image processingdevice, for allowing the image processing device to execute: setting aco-located block to be not available when a type of a reference pictureof a current block is different from a type of the reference picture ofa co-located block included in a co-located picture of a different timefrom a current picture when encoding a current motion vector of thecurrent block used in prediction using correlation in a temporaldirection, and generating a predictive vector of the current motionvector using a reference motion vector referred when generating apredictive motion vector; and generating a difference vector between thecurrent motion vector and the generated predictive vector.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a predictive vector of acurrent parallax vector of a current block used in prediction usingcorrelation in a parallax direction is generated using a referenceparallax vector referred when generating a predictive motion vector,when encoding the current parallax vector; and a difference vectorbetween the current parallax vector and the generated predictive vectoris generated.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a predictivevector of a current parallax vector of a current block used inprediction using correlation in a parallax direction is generated usinga reference parallax vector referred when generating a predictive motionvector, when decoding the current parallax vector; and an operation ofadding the generated predictive vector to a difference vector betweenthe current parallax vector and the predictive vector to reconstruct thecurrent parallax vector is performed.

According to a still another aspect of the present disclosure, aco-located block is set to be not available when a type of a referencepicture of a current block is different from a type of the referencepicture of a co-located block included in a co-located picture of adifferent time from a current picture when encoding a current motionvector of the current block used in prediction using correlation in atemporal direction; a predictive vector of the current motion vector isgenerated using a reference motion vector referred when generating apredictive motion vector; and a difference vector between the currentmotion vector and the generated predictive vector is generated.

Effects of the Invention

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to process images.In particular, it is possible to suppress a decrease in encodingefficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram for describing an example of the types of predictionunits.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing an example of neighboring regionsused for reference image index determination in a merge mode temporalcorrelation region.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing an example of reference image indexdetermination conditions in a merge mode temporal correlation region.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for describing an example of a temporal correlationregion determination method.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for describing an example of a method of determiningan image that includes a temporal correlation region.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing an example of positional relationshipbetween a current region and a temporal correlation region.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of scaling of a motionvector of a temporal correlation region.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reference relationshipof a 3-view image.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for describing an example of allocation of areference image when predicting a parallax vector with respect to acurrent region.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for describing an example of allocation of areference image when predicting a motion vector with respect to acurrent region.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofan image encoding device.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofa motion parallax prediction/compensation unit.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofa temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for describing an example of scheme selection.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for describing the way of determining availabilityof a co-located vector.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for describing an example in which a co-locatedvector is available.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of syntax of a sequenceparameter set.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of syntax of a sliceheader.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of syntax of a predictionunit.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of anencoding process.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flowchart of aninter-motion prediction process.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a mergemode process.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of aparallax motion vector prediction process.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of atemporal parallax correlation prediction process.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 22, for describing an exampleof the flow of the temporal parallax correlation prediction process.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 23, for describing an exampleof the flow of the temporal parallax correlation prediction process.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 24, for describing an exampleof the flow of the temporal parallax correlation prediction process.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of ascheme-1 process.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of ascheme-3 process.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of ascheme-4-2 process.

FIG. 31 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofan image decoding device.

FIG. 32 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofa motion parallax compensation unit.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of adecoding process.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of aprediction process.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a motionparallax compensation process.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a motionparallax vector generation process.

FIG. 37 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration example ofthe image encoding device.

FIG. 38 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofa motion prediction/compensation unit.

FIG. 39 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofa vector predicting unit.

FIG. 40 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofa different picture-based predictive vector generating unit.

FIG. 41 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a motionprediction/compensation process.

FIG. 42 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a vectorprediction process.

FIG. 43 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of apredictive vector generation process.

FIG. 44 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of adifferent picture-based predictive vector generation process.

FIG. 45 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a shiftamount determining process.

FIG. 46 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement of acurrent block and neighboring blocks.

FIG. 47 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration example ofan image decoding device.

FIG. 48 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofa motion compensation unit.

FIG. 49 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofa vector decoding unit.

FIG. 50 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofa different picture-based predictive vector generating unit.

FIG. 51 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a motioncompensation process.

FIG. 52 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a vectordecoding process.

FIG. 53 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of apredictive vector generation process.

FIG. 54 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of adifferent picture-based predictive vector generation process.

FIG. 55 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a shiftamount determining process.

FIG. 56 is a diagram illustrating an example of the way of generating apredictive vector.

FIG. 57 is a diagram for describing a parallax and a depth.

FIG. 58 is a diagram for describing an example of a predictive vectorgenerating method.

FIG. 59 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of apredictive vector generation process.

FIG. 60 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of adifferent picture-based predictive vector generation process.

FIG. 61 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 60, for describing an exampleof the flow of a different picture-based predictive vector generationprocess.

FIG. 62 is a diagram for describing an example of the aspect of areference image for a fixed background application.

FIG. 63 is a diagram for describing an example of the aspect of areference image for a stereo application.

FIG. 64 is a diagram for comparing examples of reference image types andvector properties.

FIG. 65 is a diagram for describing an example of a neighboring block.

FIG. 66 is a diagram for describing an example of handling of a temporalcorrelation block and a neighboring block.

FIG. 67 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a PUmotion (parallax) vector and reference index generation process.

FIG. 68 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a merge(skip) mode process.

FIG. 69 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of aprocess of generating candidate motion (parallax) vectors from atemporal correlation block.

FIG. 70 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of aprocess of determining the presence of a scaling process for a motion(parallax) vector of a temporal correlation block and the presence of acandidate.

FIG. 71 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of an AMVPmode process.

FIG. 72 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of aprocess of generating candidate motion (parallax) vectors from spatiallyneighboring blocks.

FIG. 73 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of aprocess of generating candidate motion (parallax) vectors from blocks onthe left side.

FIG. 74 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 73, for describing an exampleof the flow of a process of generating candidate motion (parallax)vectors from blocks on the left side.

FIG. 75 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of aprocess of determining the presence of a scaling process for a motion(parallax) vector of a neighboring block and the presence of acandidate.

FIG. 76 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of aprocess of generating candidate motion (parallax) vectors from blocks onthe upper side.

FIG. 77 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 76, for describing an exampleof the flow of a process of generating candidate motion (parallax)vectors from blocks on the upper side.

FIG. 78 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a PUmotion (parallax) vector and reference index generation process.

FIG. 79 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of a merge(skip) mode process.

FIG. 80 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of aprocess of generating candidate motion (parallax) vectors from atemporal correlation block.

FIG. 81 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of an AMVPmode process.

FIG. 82 is a diagram for describing an example of handling of aneighboring block.

FIG. 83 is a flowchart for describing another example of the flow of aprocess of generating candidate motion (parallax) vectors from blocks onthe left side.

FIG. 84 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 83, for describing anotherexample of the flow of a process of generating candidate motion(parallax) vectors from blocks on the left side.

FIG. 85 is a flowchart for describing an example of the flow of aprocess of determining the presence of a candidate motion (parallax)vector for a neighboring block.

FIG. 86 is a flowchart for describing another example of the flow of aprocess of determining the presence of a scaling process for a motion(parallax) vector of a neighboring block and the presence of acandidate.

FIG. 87 is a flowchart for describing another example of the flow of aprocess of generating candidate motion (parallax) vectors from blocks onthe upper side.

FIG. 88 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 87, for describing anotherexample of the flow of a process of generating candidate motion(parallax) vectors from blocks on the upper side.

FIG. 89 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 88, for describing anotherexample of the flow of a process of generating candidate motion(parallax) vectors from blocks on the upper side.

FIG. 90 is a diagram for describing still another example of handling ofa temporal correlation block and a neighboring block.

FIG. 91 is a flowchart for describing still another example of the flowof a process of generating candidate motion (parallax) vectors fromblocks on the left side.

FIG. 92 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 91, for describing stillanother example of the flow of a process of generating candidate motion(parallax) vectors from blocks on the left side.

FIG. 93 is a flowchart for describing still another example of the flowof a process of generating candidate motion (parallax) vectors fromblocks on the upper side.

FIG. 94 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 93, for describing stillanother example of the flow of a process of generating candidate motion(parallax) vectors from blocks on the upper side.

FIG. 95 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofa personal computer.

FIG. 96 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematicconfiguration of a television apparatus.

FIG. 97 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematicconfiguration of a mobile phone.

FIG. 98 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematicconfiguration of a recording/reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 99 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematicconfiguration of an imaging apparatus.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, modes (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) for carryingout the present disclosure will be described. The description will begiven in the following order:

1. First embodiment (Image encoding device)

2. Second embodiment (Image decoding device)

3. Third embodiment (Image encoding device)

4. Fourth embodiment (Image decoding device)

5. Fifth embodiment (Image encoding device and Image decoding device)

6. Sixth embodiment (Image encoding device and Image decoding device)

7. Seventh embodiment (Computer)

8. Eighth embodiment (Application example)

1. First Embodiment

[Motion Prediction]

In image encoding such as AVC (Advanced Video Coding) or HEVC (HighEfficiency Video Coding), motion prediction using correlation in thetemporal direction (between frames) is performed.

The AVC defines layered blocks such as macroblocks or sub-macroblocks asprocessing units of such a prediction process, and the HEVC definescoding units (CUs).

The CU which is also called a coding tree block (CTB) is a partialregion of a picture-base image, which plays the same role as themacroblock in the AVC. The size of the macroblock is fixed to 16×16pixels whereas the size of the CU is not fixed but is designated inimage compression information in respective sequences.

For example, the largest size (LCU: Largest Coding Unit) and thesmallest size (SCU: Smallest Coding Unit) of the CU are defined in asequence parameter set (SPS) included in output encoded data.

Each LCU can be split into CUs of the smaller size that is not smallerthan the size of SCU by setting split_flag=1. A CU having the size of2N×2N is split into CUs having the size of N×N which is one layer belowwhen the value of split_flag is “1.”

Further, the CU is split into prediction units (PUs) which are regions(partial regions of a picture-base image) serving as processing units ofintra or inter-prediction. Moreover, the CU is split into transformunits (TUs) which are regions (partial regions of a picture-base image)serving as processing units of orthogonal transform. Presently, the HEVCcan use 16×16 and 32×32 orthogonal transform in addition to 4×4 and 8×8orthogonal transform.

In encoding schemes in which CUs are defined and various processes areperformed in units of CUs as in the HEVC, it can be regarded thatmacroblocks in the AVC correspond to LCUs. However, the CUs have a layerstructure, the size of LCUs on the uppermost layer is generally set to128×128 pixels, for example, that is larger than the size of macroblocksof the AVC.

In the following description, the “region” includes all of the varioustypes of regions described above (for example, macroblocks,sub-macroblocks, LCUs, CUs, SCUs, PUs, TUs, and the like) (and may beany one of the regions). The “region” may naturally include units otherthan the above-described units, and units that are not usable dependingon the content of description are appropriately excluded.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration example of prediction units (PUs)which are the units of prediction process for CUs which are the units ofencoding process. As illustrated in FIG. 1, four types of PUs can beformed for one CU. The four large squares illustrated in FIG. 1 indicateCUs, and rectangles or squares inside the large square indicate PUs.Numbers indicate the index of each PU but do not indicate the content ofan image.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, in the example on the top-left corner, a CUincludes one PU (2N×2N). That is, in this case, the CU is equivalent tothe PU. Moreover, in the example on the top-right corner, the CU isvertically split into two regions and includes two horizontally long PUs(2N×N). Further, in the example on the bottom-left corner, the CU ishorizontally divided into two regions and includes two vertically longPUs (N×2N). Moreover, in the example on the bottom-right corner, the CUis vertically and horizontally split into two regions (four regions intotal) and includes four square PUs (N×N). A pattern that is to be usedamong these patterns is determined according to the content (the costfunction value of prediction results) of an image.

Non-Patent Document 3 proposes a method (merge mode) called MotionPartition Merging as one motion information encoding scheme. In thismethod, two flags, that is, MergeFlag and MergeLeftFlag, are transmittedas merge information which is the information on the merge mode.MergeFlag=1 indicates that motion information of a current region (alsoreferred to as a target region) X which is a processing target is thesame as motion information of an upper neighboring region T adjacent tothe current region or a left neighboring region L adjacent to thecurrent region. In this case, MergeLeftFlag is included in the mergeinformation and is transmitted. MergeFlag=0 indicates that the motioninformation of a current region X is different from the motioninformation of any one of the neighboring region T and the neighboringregion L. In this case, the motion information of the current region Xis transmitted.

When the motion information of the current region X is the same as themotion information of the neighboring region L, MergeFlag=1 andMergeLeftFlag=1 are satisfied. When the motion information of thecurrent region X is the same as the motion information of theneighboring region T, MergeFlag=1 and MergeLeftFlag=0 are satisfied.

In such a merge mode, a temporally neighboring region (temporalcorrelation region) as well as the spatially neighboring regions L and Tis considered to be used as a candidate region to be merged with thecurrent region X.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the reference image indexes are determined asin the table illustrated in FIG. 3 based on the reference image indexesof a left neighboring region A, an upper neighboring region B, atop-right neighboring region C adjacent to a current region (currentblock) which is a target to be processed.

In the table illustrated in FIG. 3, the second to fourth columns fromthe left respectively indicate the states of the reference image indexesof the neighboring regions A to C. The first column from the left is thedetermined reference image index. “x,” “y,” and “z” indicate optionalnatural numbers and “−1” indicates that the neighboring region cannot bereferred to.

When there is only one region that can be referred to among theneighboring regions A to C, the reference image index of that block isused. Moreover, when there are two regions that can be referred to amongthe neighboring regions A to C, the smallest reference image index isused. Further, when all of the neighboring regions A to C cannot bereferred to, the reference image index is set to 0.

The temporal correlation region, located temporally around the currentregion which is a processing target, is determined as illustrated inFIG. 4. In FIG. 4, the left regions indicate partial regions of acurrent picture (CurrPic) (also referred to as a target picture) whichis a target to be processed, and a top-left rectangle among the regionsis a current region (CurrPU). Moreover, the right regions in FIG. 4indicate partial regions of a temporal correlation picture (colPic)located temporally around the current picture. In this temporalcorrelation picture, a region including a pixel at the same position asthe bottom-right pixel of the current region is a temporal correlationregion (colPU). When this region is not referable, a region including apixel at the same position as the central pixel of a decoding region isset as the temporal correlation region (colPU).

Moreover, the temporal correlation picture is determined as illustratedin FIG. 5. For example, when a current picture is a B-picture andcollocated_from_l0_flag is “1,” a picture indicated by a reference imageindex “0” of List L1 is used as a temporal correlation picture.Moreover, when a current picture is a P-picture or a B-picture andcollocated_from_l0_flag is “0,” a picture indicated by a reference imageindex “0” of List L0 is used as a temporal correlation picture.

Further, a jump flag is set as illustrated in FIG. 6 according to apositional relationship between a current picture and a temporalcorrelation picture. For example, as illustrated on the upper side ofFIG. 6, a temporal position of a temporal correlation picture in areference image jumps over the current picture (the current picture ispresent between the temporal correlation picture and the referenceimage), the jump flag is set to “1.”

Moreover, a temporal position of a temporal correlation picture in areference image does not jump over the current picture (the currentpicture is not present between the temporal correlation picture and thereference image), the jump flag is set to “0.” When the jump flag is“1,” since the current region becomes an interpolation between thetemporal correlation region and the reference image of the temporalcorrelation region, the reliability of the predictive vector is high.

Moreover, although a motion vector mvCol of the temporal correlationregion is used when generating a predictive vector pmv, in this case,the motion vector of the temporal correlation region is scaled similarlyto the example illustrated in FIG. 7. That is, scaling is performed asin the following expressions (1) and (2) based on a temporal distance Abetween a current region and a reference image of the current region anda temporal distance B between a temporal correlation region and areference image of the temporal correlation region.If A and B are identical, pmv=mvCol  (1)If A and B are not identical, pmv=mvCol×(A/B)   (2)

However, in the case of multi-view images, an image includes a pluralityof views, and parallax prediction using correlation between views (inthe parallax direction) is also performed. FIG. 8 illustrates an exampleof a reference relationship of a 3-view image.

The 3-view image illustrated in FIG. 8 includes images of three views 0,1, and 2. In FIG. 8, POC indicates the index of time. Moreover, PicNumindicates the index of decoding order.

View 0 is called a base view and is encoded using temporal predictionthat performs prediction using temporal correlation. View 1 is called anon-base view and is encoded using temporal prediction and parallaxprediction. In the parallax prediction, an encoded view 0 and a view 2can be referred to. View 2 is called a non-base view and is encodedusing temporal prediction and parallax prediction. In the parallaxprediction, the encoded view 0 can be referred to.

However, as described above, the conventional predictive vector relatesto motion vectors only and encoding (prediction) of a parallax vectorindicating a positional relationship between partial images that are thesame or most similar between views, generated in parallax predictionacross views has not been taken into consideration. The parallax vectoris information that corresponds to a motion vector of temporalprediction and is used for temporal prediction that generates apredicted image of a current region using different images of differentviews of the same time. Thus, it may be not possible to predict parallaxvectors appropriately and the encoding efficiency may decrease.

Therefore, in the present technique, as described below, prediction ofparallax vectors and motion vectors (motion parallax vectors) of amulti-view image is performed.

For example, prediction of a parallax vector (also referred to as acurrent parallax vector) of a current region is performed similarly tothe example illustrated in FIG. 9. In this example, a reference image ofthe same view (view_id=1) is allocated to a reference image index 0 ofList 1, and a reference image of a different view (view_id=2) isallocated to a reference image index 1.

When the reference image index 0 (RefPicList[0]) of List 1 is used for atemporal correlation picture, the vector of a temporal correlationregion (colPicB) included in the temporal correlation picture isemployed as a predictive vector during a parallax vector that refers todifferent views of the same time.

Moreover, when a reference image index 1 (RefPicList[1]) of List 1 isused for a view correlation picture, the vector of a view correlationregion (colPicA) included in the view correlation picture is employed asa predictive vector during a parallax vector that refers to differentview of the same time.

That is, in the present technique, in order to predict a currentparallax vector, all reference image indexes are used as candidates fora correlation picture. Moreover, it is determined whether the vector ofeach correlation region is a parallax vector similarly to the vector ofthe current region.

Moreover, prediction of a motion vector (also referred to as a currentmotion vector) of a current region is performed similarly to the exampleillustrated in FIG. 10. In this example, a reference image of the sameview (view_id=1) is allocated to a reference image index 0 of List 1,and a reference image of a different view (view_id=2) is allocated to areference image index 1.

When the reference image index 0 (RefPicList[0]) of List 1 is used for atemporal correlation picture, the vector of a temporal correlationregion (colPicB) included in the temporal correlation picture isemployed as a predictive vector during a motion vector that refers todifferent times of the same view.

Moreover, when a reference image index 1 (RefPicList[1]) of List 1 isused for a view correlation picture, the vector of a view correlationregion (colPicA) included in the view correlation picture is employed asa predictive vector during a motion vector that refers to differenttimes of the same view.

That is, in the present technique, in order to predict a current motionvector, all reference image indexes are used as candidates for acorrelation picture. Moreover, it is determined whether the vector ofeach correlation region is a motion vector similarly to the vector ofthe current region.

Moreover, a scaling process when a parallax vector is used as apredictive vector is performed as follows. That is, the predictivevector is scaled based on an inter-view distance between the currentregion and the reference image thereof and an inter-view distancebetween the correlation region and the reference image thereof.

In the conventional technique, since only the motion vector ispredicted, only a temporal distance is used. However, in the case ofmulti-view images, it is necessary to predict the parallax vector andthus the present technique also uses the inter-view distance.Accordingly, it is possible to improve the encoding efficiency.

[Image Encoding Device]

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofan image encoding device which is an image processing device.

An image encoding device 100 illustrated in FIG. 11 encodes image datausing a prediction process similarly to the encoding scheme such as AVCor HEVC. However, the image encoding device 100 encodes a multi-viewimage including a plurality of view images. In the followingdescription, a case where a 3-view image including three view images isprocessed as an example of a multi-view image will be described.However, actually, the image encoding device 100 can encode a multi-viewimage including an optional number of view points (views).

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the image encoding device 100 includes an A/Dconverter 101, a screen rearrangement buffer 102, an arithmetic unit103, an orthogonal transform unit 104, a quantization unit 105, alossless encoding unit 106, and an accumulation buffer 107. Moreover,the image encoding device 100 includes an inverse quantization unit 108,an inverse orthogonal transform unit 109, an arithmetic unit 110, a loopfilter 111, a decoded picture buffer 112, a selector 113, anintra-prediction unit 114, a motion parallax prediction/compensationunit 115, a predicted image selector 116, and a decoded multi-viewpicture buffer 121.

The A/D converter 101 performs A/D conversion on input image data andsupplies the converted image data (digital data) to the screenrearrangement buffer 102 which stores the image data. The screenrearrangement buffer 102 rearranges the frames of an image arranged inthe stored order according to a GOP (Group Of Picture) so that theframes are rearranged in the order for encoding to obtain an image inwhich the frame order is rearranged and supplies the image to thearithmetic unit 103 together with the view ID and POC of the image.

The screen rearrangement buffer 102 supplies the image in which theframe order is rearranged to the intra-prediction unit 114 and themotion parallax prediction/compensation unit 115 together with the viewID and POC of the image. The view ID is information for identifying aviewpoint and the POC is information for identifying the time.

The arithmetic unit 103 subtracts a predicted image supplied from theintra-prediction unit 114 or the motion parallax prediction/compensationunit 115 via the predicted image selector 116 from the image read fromthe screen rearrangement buffer 102 to obtain difference informationthereof and outputs the difference information to the orthogonaltransform unit 104.

For example, in the case of an image which is subjected tointra-encoding, the arithmetic unit 103 subtracts the predicted imagesupplied from the intra-prediction unit 114 from the image read from thescreen rearrangement buffer 102. Moreover, for example, in the case ofan image which is subjected to inter-encoding, the arithmetic unit 103subtracts the predicted image supplied from the motion parallaxprediction/compensation unit 115 from the image read from the screenrearrangement buffer 102.

The orthogonal transform unit 104 performs orthogonal transform such asa discrete cosine transform or a Karhunen-Loeve transform with respectto the difference information supplied from the arithmetic unit 103. Theorthogonal transform method is optional. The orthogonal transform unit104 supplies the transform coefficients to the quantization unit 105.

The quantization unit 105 quantizes the transform coefficients suppliedfrom the orthogonal transform unit 104. The quantization unit 105 setsquantization parameters based on the information on a target coding rateand performs quantization. The quantization method is optional. Thequantization unit 105 supplies the quantized transform coefficients tothe lossless encoding unit 106.

The lossless encoding unit 106 encodes the transform coefficientsquantized by the quantization unit 105 according to an optional encodingscheme. Moreover, the lossless encoding unit 106 acquiresintra-prediction information including information or the like thatindicates an intra-prediction mode from the intra-prediction unit 114and acquires inter-prediction information including information thatindicates an inter-prediction mode, motion parallax vector information,and the like from the motion parallax prediction/compensation unit 115.Further, the lossless encoding unit 106 acquires filter coefficients andthe like used in the loop filter 111.

The lossless encoding unit 106 encodes these various types ofinformation according to an optional encoding scheme and incorporates(multiplexes) the information as part of the header information of theencoded data. The lossless encoding unit 106 supplies the encoded dataobtained by encoding to the accumulation buffer 107 which accumulatesthe encoded data.

Examples of the encoding scheme of the lossless encoding unit 106include a variable-length encoding and an arithmetic encoding. Anexample of the variable-length encoding includes context-adaptivevariable length coding (CAVLC) which is defined in the H.264/AVC scheme.An example of the arithmetic encoding includes context-adaptive binaryarithmetic coding (CABAC).

The accumulation buffer 107 temporarily stores the encoded data suppliedfrom the lossless encoding unit 106. The accumulation buffer 107 outputsthe encoded data stored therein to a recording device (recording medium)(not illustrated), a transmission line, and the like in the subsequentstage, for example, at a predetermined timing as a bit stream. That is,various items of encoded information are supplied to the decoding side.

Moreover, the transform coefficients quantized in the quantization unit105 are also supplied to the inverse quantization unit 108. The inversequantization unit 108 performs inverse quantization on the quantizedtransform coefficients according to a method corresponding to thequantization of the quantization unit 105. The inverse quantizationmethod is optional as long as the method corresponds to the quantizationprocess of the quantization unit 105. The inverse quantization unit 108supplies the obtained transform coefficients to the inverse orthogonaltransform unit 109.

The inverse orthogonal transform unit 109 performs inverse orthogonaltransform on the transform coefficients supplied from the inversequantization unit 108 according to a method corresponding to theorthogonal transform process of the orthogonal transform unit 104. Theinverse orthogonal transform method is optional as long as the methodcorresponds to the orthogonal transform process of the orthogonaltransform unit 104. The output (locally reconstructed differenceinformation) obtained through the inverse orthogonal transform issupplied to the arithmetic unit 110.

The arithmetic unit 110 adds the predicted image supplied from theintra-prediction unit 114 or the motion parallax prediction/compensationunit 115 via the predicted image selector 116 to the inverse orthogonaltransform result, that is, the locally reconstructed differenceinformation, supplied from the inverse orthogonal transform unit 109 toobtain a locally reconstructed image (hereinafter referred to as areconstructed image). The reconstructed image is supplied to the loopfilter 111 or the decoded picture buffer 112.

The loop filter 111 includes a deblocking filter, an adaptive loopfilter, or the like and performs a filtering process appropriately withrespect to the decoded image supplied from the arithmetic unit 110. Forexample, the loop filter 111 removes a block distortion of the decodedimage by performing a deblocking filtering process on the decoded image.Moreover, for example, the loop filter 111 improves image quality byperforming a loop filtering process using a Wiener filter on thedeblocking filtering results (the decoded image in which the blockdistortion is removed).

The loop filter 111 may perform an optional filtering process on thedecoded image. Moreover, the loop filter 111 supplies information suchas filter coefficients used for the filtering process to the losslessencoding unit 106 as necessary so that the information is encoded.

The loop filter 111 supplies the filtering result (hereinafter referredto as the decoded image) to the decoded picture buffer 112.

The decoded picture buffer 112 stores the reconstructed image suppliedfrom the arithmetic unit 110 and the decoded image supplied from theloop filter 111. Moreover, the decoded picture buffer 112 stores theview ID and POC of the image.

The decoded picture buffer 112 supplies the reconstructed image (withthe view ID and POC of the image) stored therein to the intra-predictionunit 114 via the selector 113 at a predetermined timing or based on arequest from an external unit such as the intra-prediction unit 114.Moreover, the decoded picture buffer 112 supplies the decoded image(with the view ID and POC of the image) stored therein to the motionparallax prediction/compensation unit 115 via the selector 113 at apredetermined timing or based on a request from an external unit such asthe motion parallax prediction/compensation unit 115.

The selector 113 indicates a supply destination of the image output fromthe decoded picture buffer 112. For example, in the case ofintra-prediction, the selector 113 reads the image (reconstructed image)that is not filtered from the decoded picture buffer 112 and suppliesthe image to the intra-prediction unit 114 as neighboring pixels.

Moreover, for example, in the case of inter-prediction, the selector 113reads the filtered image (decoded image) from the decoded picture buffer112 and supplies the image to the motion parallaxprediction/compensation unit 115 as a reference image.

Upon acquiring images (neighboring images) of neighboring regionslocated around a processing target region from the decoded picturebuffer 112, the intra-prediction unit 114 performs intra-prediction(intra-field prediction) that generates a predicted image basicallyusing a prediction unit (PU) as a processing unit, using the pixelvalues of the neighboring images. The intra-prediction unit 114 performsthe intra-prediction in a plurality of modes (intra-prediction modes)prepared in advance.

The intra-prediction unit 114 generates predicted images in allcandidate intra-prediction modes, evaluates the cost function values ofthe respective predicted images using the input image supplied from thescreen rearrangement buffer 102, and selects an optimal mode. When theoptimal intra-prediction mode is selected, the intra-prediction unit 114supplies the predicted image generated in the optimal mode to thepredicted image selector 116.

Moreover, the intra-prediction unit 114 supplies intra-predictioninformation including the information on intra-prediction such as theoptimal intra-prediction mode appropriately to the lossless encodingunit 106 which encodes the intra-prediction information.

The motion parallax prediction/compensation unit 115 performs motionprediction and parallax prediction (inter-prediction) basically using PUas a processing unit, using the input image supplied from the screenrearrangement buffer 102 and the reference image supplied from thedecoded picture buffer 112, performs a compensating process according tothe detected motion parallax vector, and generates a predicted image(inter-prediction image information). The motion parallaxprediction/compensation unit 115 performs such inter-prediction(inter-frame prediction) in a plurality of modes (inter-predictionmodes) prepared in advance.

The motion parallax prediction/compensation unit 115 generates predictedimages in all candidate inter-prediction modes, evaluates cost functionvalues of the respective predicted images, and selects an optimal mode.When an optimal inter-prediction mode is selected, the motion parallaxprediction/compensation unit 115 supplies the predicted image generatedin the optimal mode to the predicted image selector 116.

Moreover, the motion parallax prediction/compensation unit 115 suppliesinter-prediction information including the information oninter-prediction such as the optimal inter-prediction mode to thelossless encoding unit 106 which encodes the inter-predictioninformation.

The predicted image selector 116 selects a supplying source of thepredicted image supplied to the arithmetic unit 103 and the arithmeticunit 110. For example, in the case of intra-encoding, the predictedimage selector 116 selects the intra-prediction unit 114 as thesupplying source of the predicted image and supplies the predicted imagesupplied from the intra-prediction unit 114 to the arithmetic unit 103and the arithmetic unit 110. Moreover, for example, in the case ofinter-encoding, the predicted image selector 116 selects the motionparallax prediction/compensation unit 115 as the supplying source of thepredicted image and supplies the predicted image supplied from themotion parallax prediction/compensation unit 115 to the arithmetic unit103 and the arithmetic unit 110.

Although the decoded picture buffer 112 stores the image of a processingtarget view (with the view ID and POC of the image) only, the decodedmulti-view picture buffer 121 stores the images of respective viewpoints(views) (with the view IDs and POCs of the images). That is, the decodedmulti-view picture buffer 121 acquires the decoded image (with the viewID and POC of the image) supplied to the decoded picture buffer 112 andstores the decoded image (with the view ID and POC of the image)together with the decoded picture buffer 112.

Although the decoded picture buffer 112 erases the decoded image when aprocessing target view changes, the decoded multi-view picture buffer121 stores the decoded image as it was. Moreover, the decoded multi-viewpicture buffer 121 supplies the stored decoded image (with the view IDand POC of the image) to the decoded picture buffer 112 as a “decodedimage of a non-processing target view” according to a request of thedecoded picture buffer 112 or the like. The decoded picture buffer 112supplies the “decoded image of the non-processing target view (with theview ID and POC of the image)” read from the decoded multi-view picturebuffer 121 to the motion parallax prediction/compensation unit 115 viathe selector 113.

[Motion Parallax Prediction/Compensation Unit]

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofthe motion parallax prediction/compensation unit of FIG. 11.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the motion parallax prediction/compensationunit 115 includes a motion parallax vector search unit 131, a predictedimage generating unit 132, an encoded information accumulation buffer133, and a selector 134. Moreover, the motion parallaxprediction/compensation unit 115 includes a spatial correlationpredictive vector generating unit 135, a temporal parallax correlationpredictive vector generating unit 136, a selector 137, an encoding costcalculating unit 138, and a mode determining unit 139.

The motion parallax vector search unit 131 acquires a decoded imagepixel value from the decoded picture buffer 112 and acquires an originalimage pixel value from the screen rearrangement buffer 102. The motionparallax vector search unit 131 determines a reference image index of acurrent region which is a processing target using these values, performsmotion search in the temporal direction and the parallax direction, andgenerates a current motion vector and a current parallax vector.

In the following description, when it is not necessary to distinguish amotion vector indicating motion in the temporal direction (that is,between frames (pictures)) and a parallax vector indicating motion inthe parallax direction (that is, between views) or both vectors areindicated, the vector(s) will be referred to as a motion parallaxvector. A motion parallax vector of a current region is also referred toas a current motion parallax vector.

The motion parallax vector search unit 131 supplies the reference imageindex and the motion parallax vector to the predicted image generatingunit 132 and the encoding cost calculating unit 138.

The predicted image generating unit 132 acquires the reference imageindex and the motion parallax vector from the motion parallax vectorsearch unit 131 and acquires the decoded image pixel value from thedecoded picture buffer 112. The predicted image generating unit 132generates a predicted image of the current region using these values.The predicted image generating unit 132 supplies the predicted imagepixel value to the encoding cost calculating unit 138.

The encoded information accumulation buffer 133 stores mode informationindicating the mode selected as the optimal mode in the mode determiningunit 139 and the reference image index and the motion parallax vector ofthe mode. The encoded information accumulation buffer 133 supplies thestored information to the selector 134 at a predetermined timing oraccording to a request from an external unit.

The selector 134 supplies the mode information, the reference imageindex, and the motion parallax vector supplied from the encodedinformation accumulation buffer 133 to the spatial correlationpredictive vector generating unit 135 or the temporal parallaxcorrelation predictive vector generating unit 136.

The spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit 135 and thetemporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit 136generate a predictive value (predictive vector) of the motion vector(current motion vector) of the current region which is a processingtarget.

The spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit 135 generatesa predictive vector (spatial correlation predictive vector) usingspatial correlation. More specifically, the spatial correlationpredictive vector generating unit 135 acquires information (the modeinformation, the reference image index, the motion parallax vector, andthe like) on the motion information of a neighboring region (spatiallyneighboring region) located spatially around the current region, of thesame frame (current frame (also referred to as a target frame)) as thecurrent region from the encoded information accumulation buffer 133 viathe selector 134.

For example, the spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit135 performs a median operation using the motion vectors (spatiallyneighboring motion vectors) of a plurality of spatially neighboringregions to generate a spatial correlation predictive vector. The spatialcorrelation predictive vector generating unit 135 supplies the generatedspatial correlation predictive vector to the selector 137.

The temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit 136generates a predictive vector (temporal parallax correlation predictivevector (temporal correlation predictive vector or parallax correlationpredictive vector)) using temporal correlation or parallax correlation.More specifically, for example, the temporal parallax correlationpredictive vector generating unit 136 acquires information on motioninformation of a neighboring region (temporally neighboring region)located temporally around the current region from the encodedinformation accumulation buffer 133 via the selector 134. The temporallyneighboring region indicates a region (or the surrounding regionsthereof) located at the position corresponding to the current region ofa frame (picture) different from the current frame, of the same view(current view (also referred to as a target view)) as the currentregion.

Moreover, for example, the temporal parallax correlation predictivevector generating unit 136 acquires information on motion information ofa neighboring region (parallactically neighboring region) locatedparallactically around the current region from the encoded informationaccumulation buffer 133 via the selector 134. The parallacticallyneighboring region indicates a region (or the surrounding regionsthereof) located at the position corresponding to the current region ofa frame (picture) of the same time as the current frame, of a viewdifferent from the view (current view) of the current region.

For example, the temporal parallax correlation predictive vectorgenerating unit 136 performs a median operation using the motion vectors(temporally neighboring motion vectors) of a plurality of temporallyneighboring regions to generate a temporal correlation predictivevector. Moreover, for example, the temporal parallax correlationpredictive vector generating unit 136 performs a median operation usingthe motion vectors (parallactically neighboring motion vectors) of aplurality of parallactically neighboring regions to generate a parallaxcorrelation predictive vector.

The temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit 136supplies the temporal parallax correlation predictive vector, generatedin this manner, to the selector 137.

The spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit 135 and thetemporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit 136respectively generate the predictive vector in each inter-predictionmode.

The selector 137 supplies the spatial correlation predictive vectorsupplied from the spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit135 and the temporal parallax correlation predictive vector suppliedfrom the temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit136 to the encoding cost calculating unit 138.

The encoding cost calculating unit 138 calculates a difference value(difference image) between the predicted image and the original image ineach inter-prediction mode using the predicted image pixel valuesupplied from the predicted image generating unit 132 and the originalimage pixel value supplied from the screen rearrangement buffer 102.Moreover, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 calculates a costfunction value (also referred to as an encoding cost value) in eachinter-prediction mode using the difference image pixel value.

Further, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 selects a predictivevector that is closer to the motion parallax vector of the currentregion supplied from the motion parallax vector search unit 131 amongthe spatial correlation predictive vector and the temporal parallaxcorrelation predictive vector supplied from the selector 137 as thepredictive vector of the current region. Moreover, the encoding costcalculating unit 138 generates a difference motion parallax vector whichis a difference between the predictive vector and the motion parallaxvector of the current region. The encoding cost calculating unit 138generates the difference motion parallax vector in each inter-predictionmode.

The encoding cost calculating unit 138 supplies the encoding cost value,the predicted image pixel value, and the difference motion parallaxinformation including the difference motion parallax vector, of eachinter-prediction mode, and prediction information including thepredictive vector and the reference image index to the mode determiningunit 139.

The mode determining unit 139 selects an inter-prediction mode in whichthe encoding cost value is minimized as the optimal mode. The modedetermining unit 139 supplies the predicted image pixel value of theinter-prediction mode, selected as the optimal mode, to the predictedimage selector 116.

When the inter-prediction is selected by the predicted image selector116, the mode determining unit 139 supplies the mode information whichis the information on the inter-prediction mode selected as the optimalmode, the difference motion parallax information and the predictioninformation in the inter-prediction mode to the lossless encoding unit106 which encodes the information. These items of information areencoded and transmitted to the decoding side.

Moreover, the mode determining unit 139 supplies the mode information,the difference motion parallax information, and the predictioninformation in the inter-prediction mode selected as the optimal mode tothe encoded information accumulation buffer 133 which stores theinformation. These items of information are used as information on theneighboring regions in a process for another region processed later thanthe current region.

[Temporal Parallax Correlation Predictive Vector Generating Unit]

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofthe temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit 136.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the temporal parallax correlation predictivevector generating unit 136 includes a current region processor (targetregion processor) 151, a correlation region processor 152, anL1-prediction processor 153, an L0-prediction processor 154, a scheme-1processor 155, a scheme-2 processor 156, a scheme-3 processor 157, ascheme-4 processor 158, and a predictive vector generating unit 159.

The current region processor 151 performs a process of acquiring theinformation on the current region. The current region processor 151supplies the acquired information on the current region to therespective units ranging from the correlation region processor 152 tothe L0-prediction processor 154. The correlation region processor 152performs a process of acquiring the information on the correlationregion.

The correlation region is a region that is referred to in order to usecorrelation with the current region. For example, the temporalcorrelation region is a region that is referred to in order to usetemporal correlation with the current region and is a temporallyneighboring region having a motion vector used for generating thetemporal correlation predictive vector. Moreover, the parallaxcorrelation region is a region that is referred to in order to useparallax correlation with the current region and is a parallacticallyneighboring region having a motion vector used for generating theparallax correlation predictive vector. The correlation region includesthese regions.

The correlation region processor 152 supplies the information on thecorrelation region to the L1-prediction processor 153 and theL0-prediction processor 154.

The L1-prediction processor 153 performs a prediction process in the L1direction. The L1-prediction processor 153 acquires necessaryinformation from the screen rearrangement buffer 102 and the decodedpicture buffer 112. Moreover, the L1-prediction processor 153 acquiresthe information supplied from the current region processor 151 and thecorrelation region processor 152. The L1-prediction processor 153performs a prediction process in the L1 direction using these items ofinformation.

Four methods of schemes 1 to 4 are prepared as the prediction process.The L1-prediction processor selects any one of the methods and providesinformation to a processor corresponding to the method selected amongthe scheme-1 processor 155 to the scheme-4 processor 158.

The L0-prediction processor 154 performs a prediction process in the L0direction similarly to the L1-prediction processor 153.

Scheme 1 is a scheme in which a frame (reference image) of the same timeas the current frame, of a view different from the current view,allocated to the reference image index 1 of List 1 is used as acorrelation image, and when the vector of the correlation region is aparallax vector, the parallax vector (reference parallax vector) isemployed as a predictive vector. The scheme-1 processor 155 performs aprocess for generating the predictive vector according to such a scheme.The scheme-1 processor 155 supplies various parameters obtained throughthe process to the predictive vector generating unit 159.

Scheme 2 is a scheme in which a frame (reference image) of the timedifferent from the current frame, of the same view as the current view,allocated to the reference image index 0 of List 1 is used as acorrelation image, and when the vector of the correlation region is aparallax vector, the parallax vector (reference parallax vector) isemployed as a predictive vector. The scheme-2 processor 156 performs aprocess for generating the predictive vector according to such a scheme.The scheme-2 processor 156 supplies various parameters obtained throughthe process to the predictive vector generating unit 159.

Scheme 3 is a scheme in which a frame (reference image) of the timedifferent from the current frame, of the same view as the current view,allocated to the reference image index 1 of List 1 is used as acorrelation image, and when the vector of the correlation region is amotion vector, the motion vector (reference parallax vector) is employedas a predictive vector. The scheme-3 processor 157 performs a processfor generating the predictive vector according to such a scheme. Thescheme-3 processor 157 supplies various parameters obtained through theprocess to the predictive vector generating unit 159.

Scheme 4 is a scheme in which a frame (reference image) of the timedifferent from the current frame, of the same view as the current view,allocated to the reference image index 0 of List 1 is used as acorrelation image, and when the vector of the correlation region is amotion vector, the motion vector (reference parallax vector) is employedas a predictive vector. The scheme-4 processor 158 performs a processfor generating the predictive vector according to such a scheme. Thescheme-4 processor 158 supplies various parameters obtained through theprocess to the predictive vector generating unit 159.

The predictive vector generating unit 159 generates a temporal parallaxcorrelation predictive vector using the information supplied from thescheme-1 processor 155 to the scheme-4 processor 158 and the viewinformation, the time information, and the like of the reference imageacquired from the decoded picture buffer 112. In this case, thepredictive vector generating unit 159 performs a scaling process usingthe information supplied from the scheme-1 processor 155 to the scheme-4processor 158. In this case, the predictive vector generating unit 159performs scaling in the temporal direction for the motion correlationpredictive vector and performs scaling in the parallax direction for theparallax correlation predictive vector. The predictive vector generatingunit 159 supplies the generated temporal parallax correlation predictivevector to the encoding cost calculating unit 138 via the selector 137.

By doing so, the temporal parallax correlation predictive vectorgenerating unit 136 can generate the parallax correlation predictivevector as well as the motion correlation predictive vector. Thus, themotion parallax prediction/compensation unit 115 can generate thepredictive vector with high prediction accuracy even when the vector ofthe current region is the parallax vector. Accordingly, the imageencoding device 100 can suppress a decrease in the encoding efficiency.

Scheme Selection Example

FIG. 14 illustrates examples in which each scheme is selected. Asillustrated in FIG. 14, a region of which the positional relationship(whether a reference image is present in the temporal direction or inthe parallax prediction) with the reference image is the same as thecurrent region (target region) is selected as the correlation region.That is, the positional relationship between a current region and areference image of the current region is identical to the positionalrelationship between the correlation region and a reference image of thecorrelation region. Moreover, the scheme is determined based on thepositional relationship between the current region and the referenceimage of the current region and the positional relationship between thecurrent region and the correlation region.

In the table of FIG. 14, the first to fourth rows from the bottomindicate the example of the positional relationship of the respectiveimages, and A to E indicate the example of the value of the view ID orthe POC of each row. That is, what is important here is not how much thevalue is but whether the view ID or the POC of the image is identical tothose of the other image.

In the example of the fourth row from the bottom, both the currentregion and the correlation region have different reference images andview IDs but have identical POCs. That is, the vectors of the currentregion and the correlation region are parallax vectors. Moreover, thecurrent region and the correlation region have different view IDs andhave identical POCs. That is, the correlation region is an image of aview of a different frame, of the same time as the current region. Thus,Scheme 1 is selected as illustrated in the table of FIG. 14. Scheme 1 iseffective in a region in which a variation in the parallax betweenviewpoints is constant.

In the example of the third row from the bottom, both the current regionand the correlation region have different reference images and view IDsbut have identical POCs. That is, the vectors of the current region andthe correlation region are parallax vectors. Moreover, the currentregion and the correlation region have identical view IDs and havedifferent POCs. That is, the correlation region is an image of a frameof a different time, of the same view as the current region. Thus,Scheme 2 is selected as illustrated in the table of FIG. 14. Scheme 2 iseffective when a change in temporal motion is small.

In the example of the second row from the bottom, both the currentregion and the correlation regions have identical reference images andview IDs but have different POCs. That is, the vectors of the currentregion and the correlation region are motion vectors. Moreover, thecurrent region and the correlation region have different view IDs andhave identical POCs. That is, the correlation region is an image of aview of a different frame, of the same time as the current region.Scheme 3 is selected as illustrated in the table of FIG. 14. Scheme 3 iseffective when a change in the parallax amount between viewpoints issmall.

In the example of the first row from the bottom, both the current regionand the correlation region have identical reference images and view IDsbut have different POCs. That is, the vectors of the current region andthe correlation region are motion vectors. Moreover, the current regionand the correlation region have identical view IDs and different POCs.That is, the correlation region is an image of a frame of a differenttime, of the same view as the current region. Thus, Scheme 4 is selectedas illustrated in the table of FIG. 14.

That is, for example, when any one (for example, the left-eye image) ofthe left and right images of a 3D image is a base view and the other(for example, the right-eye image) is a dependent view, and in thedependent view, the property of a vector (coding vector) of the currentregion is identical to the property of a vector (co-located vector) of acorrelation region (co-located block) of a frame of a different time ofthe same view, the co-located block is set to be available. In otherwords, in the dependent view, when the properties of the coding vectorand the co-located vector are not identical, the co-located block is setto be not available. Naturally, the same can be applied to the baseview.

For example, the L1-prediction processor 153 and the L0-predictionprocessor 154 of FIG. 13 perform such setting.

Whether or not the properties of the coding vector and the co-locatedvector are identical can be determined, for example, by comparing thePOCs of the current region and the co-located block with the POCs of therespective reference images as illustrated in FIG. 15. For example, theL1-prediction processor 153 and the L0-prediction processor 154 of FIG.13 perform such determination.

For example, when the POC (CurrPOC) of the current region and the POC(CurrRefPOC) of the reference image of the current region are notidentical and the POC (ColPOC) of the co-located block and the POC(ColRefPOC) of the reference image of the co-located block are notidentical ((CurrPOC !=CurrRefPOC)&&(ColPOC !=ColRefPOC)), theL1-prediction processor 153 and the L0-prediction processor 154determine that both the coding vector and the co-located block aremotion vectors (A of FIG. 16).

Moreover, for example, when the POC (CurrPOC) of the current region andthe POC (CurrRefPOC) of the reference image of the current region areidentical and the POC (ColPOC) of the co-located block and the POC(ColRefPOC) of the reference image of the co-located block are identical((CurrPOC==CurrRefPOC)&&(ColPOC==ColRefPOC)), the L1-predictionprocessor 153 and the L0-prediction processor 154 determine that boththe coding vector and the co-located block are parallax vectors(inter-view vectors) (B of FIG. 16).

The L1-prediction processor 153 and the L0-prediction processor 154 setthe availability of the co-located vector as illustrated in the table onthe lower side of FIG. 15 based on the determination results.

For example, when both the coding vector and the co-located block aredetermined to be motion vectors or parallax vectors (inter-viewvectors), the co-located vector is set to be available (A of FIG. 16 orB of FIG. 16).

Conversely, when one of the coding vector and the co-located block isdetermined to be the motion vector and the other is determined to be theparallax vector (inter-view vector), the co-located vector is set to benot available.

[Syntax]

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of the syntax of the sequence parameterset of this case. As illustrated on the tenth row to the third row fromthe bottom of FIG. 17, information such as a total number of views, anID for identifying views, the number of parallax predictions in List L0,an ID of a view referred to in the parallax prediction in List L0, thenumber of parallax predictions in List L1, and an ID of a view referredto in the parallax prediction in List L1 is included in the sequenceparameter set. These items of information are information necessary formulti-view images. In other words, the present technique can be appliedwithout adding new syntax to the sequence parameter set.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of the syntax of a slice header of thiscase. As illustrated on the eighth row from the bottom of FIG. 18, an IDfor identifying views is included in the slice header. This informationis information necessary for multi-view images. In other words, thepresent technique can be applied without adding new syntax to the sliceheader.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of the syntax of a prediction unit ofthis case. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the present technique can beapplied without adding new syntax to the prediction unit. However, sincethe application of the present technique increases the number ofcandidate correlation regions as compared to the conventional technique,it is necessary to expand the type of the syntax or change the contentof the process for the merge mode ID and predictive vector ID.

[Flow of Encoding Process]

Next, the flow of the respective processes executed by the imageencoding device 100 having such a configuration will be described.First, an example of the flow of the encoding process will be describedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 20.

In step S101, the A/D converter 101 performs A/D conversion on an inputimage. In step S102, the screen rearrangement buffer 102 stores theA/D-converted image and rearranges the respective pictures so that thepictures arranged in the display order is rearranged in the encodingorder.

In step S103, the intra-prediction unit 114 performs an intra-predictionprocess. In step S104, the motion parallax prediction/compensation unit115 performs an inter-motion prediction process. In step S105, thepredicted image selector 116 selects any one of the predicted imagegenerated by the intra-prediction and the predicted image generated bythe inter-prediction.

In step S106, the arithmetic unit 103 calculates (generates a differenceimage) a difference between the image rearranged by the process of stepS102 and the predicted image selected by the process of step S105. Thegenerated difference image has a smaller data amount than the originalimage. Thus, it is possible to compress the data amount as compared towhen the image is encoded as it is.

In step S107, the orthogonal transform unit 104 performs orthogonaltransform on the difference image generated by the process of step S106.Specifically, orthogonal transform such as a discrete cosine transformor a Karhunen-Loeve transform is performed, and orthogonal transformcoefficients are output. In step S108, the quantization unit 105quantizes the orthogonal transform coefficients obtained by the processof step S107.

The difference image quantized by the process of step S108 is locallydecoded in the following manner. That is, in step S109, the inversequantization unit 108 performs inverse quantization on the quantizedorthogonal transform coefficients (also referred to as quantizationcoefficients) generated by the process of step S108 according to aproperty corresponding to the property of the quantization unit 105. Instep S110, the inverse orthogonal transform unit 109 performs inverseorthogonal transform on the orthogonal transform coefficient obtained bythe process of step S109 according to a property corresponding to theproperty of the orthogonal transform unit 104. In this manner, thedifference image is reconstructed.

In step S111, the arithmetic unit 110 adds the predicted image selectedin step S105 to the difference image generated in step S110 to generatea locally decoded image (reconstructed image). In step S112, the loopfilter 111 performs a loop filtering process including a deblockingfiltering process or an adaptive loop filtering process appropriatelywith respect to the reconstructed image obtained by the process of stepS111 to generate a decoded image.

In step S113, the decoded picture buffer 112 and the decoded multi-viewpicture buffer 121 store the decoded image generated by the process ofstep S112 and the reconstructed image generated by the process of stepS111.

In step S114, the lossless encoding unit 106 encodes the orthogonaltransform coefficients quantized by the process of step S108. That is,lossless encoding such as variable-length encoding or arithmeticencoding is performed with respect to the difference image. The losslessencoding unit 106 encodes information on prediction, information onquantization, information on the filtering process, and the like andadds the encoded information to a bit stream.

In step S115, the accumulation buffer 107 accumulates the bit streamobtained by the process of step S114. The encoded data accumulated inthe accumulation buffer 107 is appropriately read and is transmitted tothe decoding side via a transmission line or a recording medium.

In step S116, the quantization unit 105 controls the rate of thequantization operation based on the coding rate (occurrence coding rate)of the encoded data accumulated in the accumulation buffer 107 by theprocess of step S115 so that an overflow or an underflow does not occur.

When the process of step S116 ends, the encoding process ends.

[Flow of Inter-Motion Prediction Process]

Next, an example of the flow of an inter-motion prediction processexecuted in step S104 of FIG. 20 will be described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 21.

In step S131, the motion parallax vector search unit 131 performs motionsearch with respect to the inter-prediction mode of a processing targetto generate a motion parallax vector (motion vector or parallax vector)of the current region which is the processing target. In step S132, thepredicted image generating unit 132 performs a compensation processusing the motion parallax vector generated in step S131 to generate apredicted image. In step S133, the encoding cost calculating unit 138generates a difference image between the predicted image generated instep S132 and the original image (input image).

In step S134, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 performs a mergemode process using the spatial correlation predictive vector generatingunit 135, the temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generatingunit 136, and the like.

In step S135, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 compares the motionparallax vector of the current region generated in step S131 and thepredictive vector of the current region generated by the process of stepS134 to determine whether a merge mode is to be applied to the currentregion.

When it is determined that both are not identical and the merge mode isnot to be applied, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 proceeds tothe process of step S136 and performs the parallax motion vectorprediction process using the spatial correlation predictive vectorgenerating unit 135, the temporal parallax correlation predictive vectorgenerating unit 136, and the like. When the process of step S136 ends,the encoding cost calculating unit 138 proceeds to the process of stepS137.

Moreover, in step S135, when it is determined that the motion parallaxvector and the predictive vector of the current region are identical andthe merge mode is to be applied to the current region, the encoding costcalculating unit 138 skips the process of step S136 and proceeds to stepS137.

In step S137, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 determines whetherthe above process has been performed in all inter-prediction modes. Whenit is determined that a non-processed inter-prediction mode is present,the flow returns to step S131, and control is performed so that thesubsequent processes are repeatedly performed with respect to thenon-processed inter-prediction mode. That is, the processes of stepsS131 to S137 are executed in the respective inter-prediction modes.

When it is determined that the process has been performed in allinter-prediction modes in step S137, the encoding cost calculating unit138 proceeds to the process of step S138. In step S138, the encodingcost calculating unit 138 calculates the cost function value of eachinter-prediction mode.

In step S139, the mode determining unit 139 determines aninter-prediction mode in which the cost function value (encoding costvalue) calculated in step S138 is the smallest as an optimal mode(optimal inter-prediction mode).

In step S140, the predicted image generating unit 132 generates thepredicted image in the optimal inter-prediction mode. The predictedimage is supplied to the predicted image selector 116.

In step S141, the encoded information accumulation buffer 133 stores themode information and the motion information (the motion parallax vector,the reference image index, and the like) of the optimal inter-predictionmode when the inter-prediction is selected in step S105 of FIG. 20. Whenthe intra-prediction mode is selected, a zero vector is stored as themotion parallax vector. When the inter-prediction is selected in stepS105 of FIG. 20, these items of information are supplied to and encodedby the lossless encoding unit 106 and the encoded information istransmitted to the decoding side.

When the process of step S141 ends, the encoded information accumulationbuffer 133 ends the inter-motion prediction process and the flowproceeds to the flowchart of FIG. 20.

[Flow of Merge Mode Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the merge mode process executed in stepS134 of FIG. 21 will be described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 22.

When the merge mode process starts, in step S161, the spatialcorrelation predictive vector generating unit 135 performs a spatialcorrelation prediction process of generating a spatial correlationpredictive vector using the correlation with a spatially neighboringregion. In step S162, the temporal parallax correlation predictivevector generating unit 136 performs a temporal correlation predictionprocess of generating a temporal parallax correlation predictive vectorusing the correlation with a temporally neighboring region or aparallactically neighboring region.

In step S163, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 removes anoverlapping vector from the spatial correlation predictive vectorgenerated in step S161 and the temporal parallax predictive vectorgenerated in step S162.

In step S164, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 determines whethera vector is present. When it is determined that there is at least onespatial correlation predictive vector or temporal parallax correlationpredictive vector, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 proceeds tothe process of step S165.

In step S165, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 determines whethera plurality of vectors is present. When it is determined that aplurality of vectors is present, the encoding cost calculating unit 138proceeds to the process of step S166 to acquire a merge index. When itis determined that a plurality of vectors is not present, the encodingcost calculating unit 138 skips the process of step S166.

When a spatial correlation predictive vector or a temporal parallaxcorrelation predictive vector identical to the motion vector of thecurrent region is present, the encoding cost calculating unit 138acquires the identical vector as a predictive vector in step S167 andacquires the reference image index in step S168.

When the process of step S168 ends, the encoding cost calculating unit138 ends the merge mode process and the flow returns to the flowchart ofFIG. 21.

Moreover, when it is determined that neither the spatial correlationpredictive vector nor the temporal parallax correlation predictivevector is present in step S164, the encoding cost calculating unit 138proceeds to the process of step S169.

In step S169, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 assigns an initialvalue (for example, a zero vector) to the predictive vector. Moreover,in step S170, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 assigns an initialvalue (for example, 0) to the reference image index.

When the process of step S170 ends, the encoding cost calculating unit138 ends the merge mode process and the flow returns to the flowchart ofFIG. 21.

[Flow of Parallax Motion Vector Prediction Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the parallax motion vector predictionprocess executed in step S136 of FIG. 21 will be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 23.

When the parallax motion vector prediction process starts, in step S191,the spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit 135 performs aspatial correlation prediction process to generate a spatial correlationpredictive vector. In step S192, the temporal parallax correlationpredictive vector generating unit 136 performs a temporal parallaxcorrelation prediction process to generate a temporal parallaxcorrelation predictive vector.

In step S193, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 removes anoverlapping vector from the spatial correlation predictive vectorgenerated in step S191 and the temporal parallax predictive vectorgenerated in step S192.

The encoding cost calculating unit 138 selects a vector closest to themotion vector of the current region among the remaining vectors, createsa predictive vector index indicating the vector in step S194, and usesthe vector as a predictive vector in step S195. When the process of stepS195 ends, the encoding cost calculating unit 138 ends the parallaxmotion vector prediction process and the flow returns to the flowchartof FIG. 21.

[Flow of Temporal Parallax Correlation Prediction Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the temporal parallax correlationprediction process executed in step S162 of FIG. 22 or step S192 of FIG.23 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIGS. 24 to 27.

When the temporal parallax correlation prediction process starts, thecurrent region processor 151 acquires the view ID and POC of the currentregion in step S211 of FIG. 24. In step S212, the current regionprocessor 151 determines a reference index of the current region. Instep S213, the current region processor 151 acquires the view ID and POCof the reference image.

In step S214, the correlation region processor 152 selects thecorrelation image in ascending order of the reference image indexes ofList L1. In step S215, the correlation region processor 152 determineswhether all reference image indexes have been searched. When it isdetermined that all reference image indexes have been searched, thetemporal parallax correlation prediction process ends, and the flowreturns to the flowchart of FIG. 22 or FIG. 23.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S215 that a non-processedreference image index is present, the correlation region processor 152proceeds to the process of step S216. In step S216, the correlationregion processor 152 determines a correlation region and the flowproceeds to the flowchart of FIG. 25.

In step S221 of FIG. 25, the correlation region processor 152 determineswhether the correlation region is an intra-predicted region or a regionthat does not refer to another region. When it is determined that thecorrelation region is the intra-predicted region or the region that doesnot refer to another region, the correlation region processor 152proceeds to the flowchart of FIG. 26.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S221 of FIG. 25 that thecorrelation region is the inter-predicted region and the region thatdoes not refer to another region, the correlation region processor 152proceeds to the process of step S222.

In step S222, the L1-prediction processor 153 acquires the view ID andPOC of the correlation region. In step S223, the L1-prediction processor153 acquires the view ID and POC of the L1-prediction reference image ofthe correlation region.

In step S224, the L1-prediction processor 153 determines whether thecurrent region and the correlation region have identical view IDs. Whenboth are identical, the correlation region is a co-located block. Whenit is determined that the current region and the correlation region haveidentical view IDs, the L1-prediction processor 153 proceeds to theprocess of step S225 to perform a scheme-4-2 process so that thepredictive vector is generated according to Scheme 4 or 2. When theprocess of step S225 ends, the flow proceeds to the flowchart of FIG.26.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S224 of FIG. 25 that the currentregion and the correlation region do not have identical view IDs, theL1-prediction processor 153 proceeds to the process of step S226.

In step S226, the L1-prediction processor 153 determines whether thecurrent region and the correlation region have identical POCs. When itis determined that the current region and the correlation region do nothave identical POCs, the L1-prediction processor 153 proceeds to theflowchart of FIG. 26.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S226 of FIG. 25 that the currentregion and the correlation region have identical POCs, the L1-predictionprocessor 153 proceeds to the process of step S227.

In step S227, the L1-prediction processor 153 determines whether thereference image of the current region and the reference image of thecorrelation region have identical POCs. When it is determined that thereference image of the current region and the reference image of thecorrelation region have identical POCs, the L1-prediction processor 153proceeds to the process of step S228 to perform a scheme-1 process sothat the predictive vector is generated according to Scheme 1. When theprocess of step S228 ends, the L1-prediction processor 153 proceeds tothe flowchart of FIG. 26.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S227 of FIG. 25 that thereference image of the current region and the reference image of thecorrelation region do not have identical POCs, the L1-predictionprocessor 153 proceeds to the process of step S229 to perform a scheme-3process so that the predictive vector is generated according to Scheme3. When the process of step S229 ends, the L1-prediction processor 153proceeds to the flowchart of FIG. 26.

In FIG. 26, the L0-prediction processor 154 performs the same process asthe L1 prediction of FIG. 25 with respect to the L0 prediction of thecorrelation region. That is, the L0-prediction processor 154 performsthe same processes of steps S231 to S238 as the processes of steps S222to S229 of FIG. 25.

However, in the case of FIG. 26, the reference image of the correlationregion is a L0-prediction reference image. Moreover, when the process ofstep S234, S237, or S238 ends, or when it is determined in step S235that the current region and the correlation region do not have identicalPOCs, the L0-prediction processor 154 proceeds to the flowchart of FIG.27.

In step S241 of FIG. 27, the predictive vector generating unit 159determines whether at least one predictive vector candidate is present.When it is determined that no predictive vector candidate is present,the predictive vector generating unit 159 returns to the process of stepS214 of FIG. 24.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S241 of FIG. 27 that at leastone predictive vector candidate is present, the predictive vectorgenerating unit 159 proceeds to the process of step S242. In step S242,the predictive vector generating unit 159 determines whether the jumpflag of L1 only is 1 or whether the jump flags of L0 or L1 areidentical, and L1 is referred to.

When it is determined that the jump flag of L1 only is 1 or that thejump flags of L0 and L1 are identical, and L1 is referred to, thepredictive vector generating unit 159 proceeds to the process of stepS243.

In step S243, the predictive vector generating unit 159 acquires anL1-reference vector. In step S244, the predictive vector generating unit159 acquires a reference image index of L1 reference and the flowproceeds to step S247.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S242 that the jump flag of L1 isnot 1 or the jump flag of L0 is 0, and that the jump flags of L0 and L1are not identical or L1 is not referred to, the predictive vectorgenerating unit 159 proceeds to the process of step S245.

In step S245, the predictive vector generating unit 159 acquires anL0-reference vector. In step S246, the predictive vector generating unit159 acquires a reference image index of L0 reference and the flowproceeds to step S247.

In step S247, the predictive vector generating unit 159 uses theL1-reference vector or L0-reference vector acquired as the predictivevector. In this case, the predictive vector generating unit 159 scalesthe vector using the distance to the reference image in the currentregion or the correlation region and uses the scaling result as thepredictive vector.

When the process of step S247 ends, the predictive vector generatingunit 159 returns to the flowchart of FIG. 24 to end the temporalparallax correlation prediction process, and the flow returns to theflowchart of FIG. 22 or FIG. 23.

[Flow of Scheme-1 Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the scheme-1 process executed in FIG. 25or FIG. 26 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 28.

When the scheme-1 process starts, in step S261, the scheme-1 processor155 determines whether the POCs of the current region and the referenceimage of the current region are identical. When it is determined thatthe POCs of the current region and the reference image of the currentregion are not identical, the scheme-1 processor 155 ends the scheme-1process and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 25 or FIG. 26.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S261 that the POCs of thecurrent region and the reference image of the current region areidentical, the scheme-1 processor 155 proceeds to the process of stepS262.

In step S262, the scheme-1 processor 155 determines whether the POCs ofthe correlation region and the reference image of the correlation regionare identical. When it is determined that the POCs of the correlationregion and the reference image of the correlation region are notidentical, the scheme-1 processor 155 ends the scheme-1 process and theflow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 25 or FIG. 26.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S262 that the POCs of thecorrelation region and the reference image of the correlation region areidentical, the scheme-1 processor 155 proceeds to the process of stepS263.

In step S263, the scheme-1 processor 155 calculates an inter-viewdistance 1 between the current region and the reference image of thecurrent region. In step S264, the scheme-1 processor 155 calculates aninter-view distance 2 between the correlation region and the referenceimage of the correlation region. In step S265, the scheme-1 processor155 determines the jump flag of the reference image, and the flowreturns to the flowchart of FIG. 25 or FIG. 26. These parameters (theinter-view distance 1, the inter-view distance 2, and the jump flag) areused in the process of FIG. 27.

[Flow of Scheme-3 Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the scheme-3 process executed in FIG. 25or FIG. 26 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 29.

When the scheme-3 process starts, in step S271, the scheme-3 processor157 determines whether the view IDs of the current region and thereference image of the current region are identical. When the view IDsof the current region and the reference image of the current region arenot identical, the scheme-3 processor 157 ends the scheme-3 process, andthe flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 25 or FIG. 26.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S271 that the view IDs of thecurrent region and the reference image of the current region areidentical, the scheme-3 processor 157 proceeds to the process of stepS272.

In step S272, the scheme-3 processor 157 determines whether the view IDsof the correlation region and the reference image of the correlationregion are identical. When it is determined that the view IDs of thecorrelation region and the reference image of the correlation region arenot identical, the scheme-3 processor 157 ends the scheme-3 process, andthe flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 25 or FIG. 26.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S272 that the view IDs of thecorrelation region and the reference image of the correlation region areidentical, the scheme-3 processor 157 proceeds to the process of stepS273.

In step S273, the scheme-3 processor 157 calculates the inter-viewdistance 1 between the current region and the reference image of thecurrent region. In step S274, the scheme-3 processor 157 calculates theinter-view distance 2 between the correlation region and the referenceimage of the correlation region. In step S275, the scheme-3 processor157 determines the jump flag of the reference image and the flow returnsto the flowchart of FIG. 25 or FIG. 26. These parameters (the inter-viewdistance 1, the inter-view distance 2, and the jump flag) are used inthe process of FIG. 27.

[Flow of Scheme-4-2 Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the scheme-4-2 process executed in FIG.25 or FIG. 26 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.30.

When the scheme-4-2 process starts, in step S281, the L1-predictionprocessor 153 or the L0-prediction processor 154 determines whether theview IDs of the current region and the reference image of the currentregion are identical. When both are identical, a coding vector is amotion vector. When it is determined that the view IDs of the currentregion and the reference image of the current region are identical, theflow proceeds to step S282.

In step S282, the L1-prediction processor 153 or the L0-predictionprocessor 154 determines whether the view IDs of the correlation region(co-located block) and the reference image of the correlation region areidentical. When both are not identical, a co-located vector is aparallax vector. When it is determined that the view IDs of thecorrelation region and the reference image of the correlation region arenot identical, the L1-prediction processor 153 or the L0-predictionprocessor 154 ends the scheme-4-2 process and the flow returns to theflowchart of FIG. 25 or FIG. 26.

That is, in this case, since the coding vector is the motion vector andthe co-located vector is the parallax vector, the property of the codingvector is not identical to the property of the co-located vector. Thus,the co-located block is set to be not available, and the scheme-4-2process ends.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S282 that the view IDs of thecorrelation region and the reference image of the correlation region areidentical, the L1-prediction processor 153 or the L0-predictionprocessor 154 proceeds to the process of step S283. When both areidentical, the co-located vector is the motion vector. That is, in thiscase, both the encoding vector and the co-located vector are the motionvector, and the properties of both vectors are identical. Thus, in thiscase, the co-located vector is set to be available.

In step S283, the scheme-4 processor 158 calculates the inter-viewdistance 1 between the current region and the reference image of thecurrent region. In step S284, the scheme-4 processor 158 calculates theinter-view distance 2 between the correlation region and the referenceimage of the correlation region. In step S285, the scheme-4 processor158 determines the jump flag of the reference image, and the flowreturns to the flowchart of FIG. 25 or FIG. 26. These parameters (theinter-view distance 1, the inter-view distance 2, and the jump flag) areused in the process of FIG. 27.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S281 that the view IDs of thecurrent region and the reference image of the current region are notidentical, the L1-prediction processor 153 or the L0-predictionprocessor 154 proceeds to the process of step S286.

In step S286, the prediction processor 153 or the L0-predictionprocessor 154 determines whether the POCs of the current region and thereference image of the current region are identical. When it isdetermined that the POCs of the current region and the reference imageof the current region are not identical, the prediction processor 153 orthe L0-prediction processor 154 ends the scheme-4-2 process, and theflow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 25 or FIG. 26.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S286 that the POCs of thecurrent region and the reference image of the current region areidentical, the prediction processor 153 or the L0-prediction processor154 proceeds to the process of step S287. When both are identical, acoding vector is a parallax vector.

In step S287, the prediction processor 153 or the L0-predictionprocessor 154 determines whether the POCs of the correlation region andthe reference image of the correlation region are identical. When bothare not identical, a co-located vector is a motion vector. When it isdetermined that the POCs of the correlation region and the referenceimage of the correlation region are not identical, the predictionprocessor 153 or the L0-prediction processor 154 ends the scheme-4-2process, and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 25 or FIG. 26.

That is, in this case, since the coding vector is the parallax vectorand the co-located vector is the motion vector, the property of thecoding vector is not identical to the property of the co-located vector.Thus, the co-located block is set to be not available, and thescheme-4-2 process ends.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S287 that the POCs of thecorrelation region and the reference image of the correlation region areidentical, the L1-prediction processor 153 or the L0-predictionprocessor 154 returns to the process of step S283. When both areidentical, the co-located vector is the parallax vector. That is, inthis case, both the coding vector and the co-located vector are parallaxvectors, and the properties of both vectors are identical. Thus, in thiscase, the co-located vector is set to be available.

In this case, the scheme-2 processor 156 performs the processes of stepsS283 to S285 similarly to the scheme-4 processor 158. When the processof step S285 ends, the scheme-2 processor 156 ends the scheme-4-2process, and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 25 or FIG. 26.

By performing the respective processes in this manner, the temporalparallax correlation predictive vector generating unit 136 can generatethe parallax correlation predictive vector as well as the motioncorrelation predictive vector. Thus, the motion parallaxprediction/compensation unit 115 can generate the predictive vector withhigh prediction accuracy even when the vector of the current region isthe parallax vector. Due to this, the image encoding device 100 cansuppress a decrease in the encoding efficiency.

2. Second Embodiment

[Image Decoding Device]

FIG. 31 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofan image decoding device which is an image processing device. An imagedecoding device 300 illustrated in FIG. 31 is a device that correspondsto the image encoding device 100 of FIG. 11. That is, the image decodingdevice 300 decodes the encoded data (bit stream), which is generatedthrough encoding a multi-view image by the image encoding device 100,according to a decoding method corresponding to the encoding method ofthe image encoding device 100 to obtain a decoded multi-view image.

As illustrated in FIG. 31, the image decoding device 300 includes anaccumulation buffer 301, a lossless decoding unit 302, an inversequantization unit 303, an inverse orthogonal transform unit 304, anarithmetic unit 305, a loop filter 306, a screen rearrangement buffer307, and a D/A converter 308. Moreover, the image decoding device 300includes a decoded picture buffer 309, a selector 310, anintra-prediction unit 311, a motion parallax compensation unit 312, anda selector 313.

Further, the image decoding device 300 includes a decoded multi-viewpicture buffer 321.

The accumulation buffer 301 accumulates the encoded data transmittedthereto and supplies the encoded data to the lossless decoding unit 302at a predetermined timing. The lossless decoding unit 302 decodes theinformation encoded by the lossless encoding unit 106 of FIG. 11, whichis supplied from the accumulation buffer 301, according to a schemecorresponding to the encoding scheme of the lossless encoding unit 106.The lossless decoding unit 302 supplies quantized coefficient data ofthe difference image obtained by decoding to the inverse quantizationunit 303.

Moreover, the lossless decoding unit 302 refers to the information onthe optimal prediction mode obtained by decoding the encoded data todetermine whether the intra-prediction mode or the inter-prediction modeis selected as the optimal prediction mode. The lossless decoding unit302 supplies the information on the optimal prediction mode to theintra-prediction unit 311 or the motion parallax compensation unit 312based on the determination result. That is, for example, when the imageencoding device 100 selected the intra-prediction mode as the optimalprediction mode, the intra-prediction information which is theinformation on the optimal prediction mode or the like is supplied tothe intra-prediction unit 311. Moreover, for example, when the imageencoding device 100 selected the inter-prediction mode as the optimalprediction mode, the inter-prediction information which is theinformation on the optimal prediction mode or the like is supplied tothe motion parallax compensation unit 312.

The inverse quantization unit 303 performs inverse quantization on thequantized coefficient data, which is obtained through decoding by thelossless decoding unit 302, according to a scheme corresponding to thequantization scheme of the quantization unit 105 of FIG. 11 and suppliesthe obtained coefficient data to the inverse orthogonal transform unit304. The inverse orthogonal transform unit 304 performs inverseorthogonal transform on the coefficient data supplied from the inversequantization unit 303 according to a scheme corresponding to theorthogonal transform scheme of the orthogonal transform unit 104 of FIG.11. The inverse orthogonal transform unit 304 obtains the differenceimage corresponding to the difference image before being subjected tothe orthogonal transform in the image encoding device 100 by the inverseorthogonal transform process.

The difference image obtained through inverse orthogonal transform issupplied to the arithmetic unit 305. Moreover, the predicted image fromthe intra-prediction unit 311 or the motion parallax compensation unit312 is supplied to the arithmetic unit 305 via the selector 313.

The arithmetic unit 305 adds the difference image and the predictedimage to obtain a reconstructed image corresponding to the image beforesubtraction of the predicted image by the arithmetic unit 103 of theimage encoding device 100. The arithmetic unit 305 supplies thereconstructed image to the loop filter 306.

The loop filter 306 performs a loop filtering process including adeblocking filtering process, an adaptive loop pressure filter, and thelike with respect to the supplied reconstructed image to generate adecoded image. For example, the loop filter 306 removes a blockdistortion by performing a deblocking filtering process on thereconstructed image. Moreover, for example, the loop filter 306 improvesimage quality by performing a loop filtering process using a Wienerfilter with respect to the deblocking filtering process results (thereconstructed image in which the block distortion is removed).

The type of the filtering process performed by the loop filter 306 isoptional, and a filtering process other than the above-describedprocesses may be performed. Moreover, the loop filter 306 may performthe filtering process using the filter coefficients supplied from theimage encoding device 100 of FIG. 11.

The loop filter 306 supplies the decoded image which is the filteringprocess result to the screen rearrangement buffer 307 and the decodedpicture buffer 309. The filtering process of the loop filter 306 may beomitted. That is, the output of the arithmetic unit 305 may be stored inthe decoded picture buffer 309 without being subjected to the filteringprocess. For example, the intra-prediction unit 311 uses the pixelvalues of pixels included in this image as the pixel values of theneighboring pixels.

The screen rearrangement buffer 307 rearranges the supplied decodedimage. That is, the frame order rearranged for the encoding order by thescreen rearrangement buffer 102 of FIG. 11 is rearranged in the originaldisplay order. The D/A converter 308 performs D/A conversion on thedecoded image supplied from the screen rearrangement buffer 307, outputsthe converted image to a display (not illustrated), and displays theimage.

The decoded picture buffer 309 stores the supplied reconstructed image(and the view ID and POC of the image) and the decoded image (and theview ID and POC of the image). Moreover, the decoded picture buffer 309supplies the stored reconstructed image (and the view ID and POC of theimage) or decoded image (and the view ID and POC of the image) to theintra-prediction unit 311 and the motion parallax compensation unit 312via the selector 310 at a predetermined timing or based on a request ofan external unit such as the intra-prediction unit 311 or the motionparallax compensation unit 312.

The intra-prediction unit 311 performs basically the same process as theintra-prediction unit 114 of FIG. 11. However, the intra-prediction unit311 performs intra-prediction only with respect to a region in which apredicted image is generated by intra-prediction during encoding.

The motion parallax compensation unit 312 performs motion parallaxcompensation based on the inter-prediction information supplied from thelossless decoding unit 302 to generate a predicted image. The motionparallax compensation unit 312 performs motion parallax compensationwith respect to a region in which inter-prediction is performed duringencoding only based on the inter-prediction information supplied fromthe lossless decoding unit 302.

The motion parallax compensation unit 312 supplies the generatedpredicted image to the arithmetic unit 305 via the selector 313 forevery region of prediction process units.

The selector 313 supplies the predicted image supplied from theintra-prediction unit 311 or the predicted image supplied from themotion parallax compensation unit 312 to the arithmetic unit 305.

Although the decoded picture buffer 309 stores the image of a processingtarget view (and the view ID and POC of the image) only, the decodedmulti-view picture buffer 321 stores the images of respective viewpoints(views) (and the view IDs and POCs of the images). That is, the decodedmulti-view picture buffer 321 acquires the decoded image (and the viewID and POC of the image) supplied to the decoded picture buffer 309 andstores the decoded image (and the view ID and POC of the image) togetherwith the decoded picture buffer 309.

Although the decoded picture buffer 309 erases the decoded image when aprocessing target view changes, the decoded multi-view picture buffer321 stores the decoded image as it is. Moreover, the decoded multi-viewpicture buffer 321 supplies the stored decoded image (and the view IDand POC of the image) to the decoded picture buffer 309 as a “decodedimage of a non-processing target view” according to a request of thedecoded picture buffer 309 or the like. The decoded picture buffer 309supplies the “decoded image of the non-processing target view (and theview ID and POC of the image)” read from the decoded multi-view picturebuffer 321 to the motion parallax compensation unit 312 via the selector310.

[Motion Parallax Compensation Unit]

FIG. 32 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofthe motion parallax compensation unit 312.

As illustrated in FIG. 32, the motion parallax compensation unit 312includes an encoded information accumulation buffer 331, a spatialcorrelation predictive vector generating unit 332, a temporal parallaxcorrelation predictive vector generating unit 333, a selector 334, anarithmetic unit 335, and a predicted image generating unit 336.

The encoded information accumulation buffer 331 acquires the modeinformation, difference motion parallax information, and predictioninformation obtained in the lossless decoding unit 302. Moreover, theencoded information accumulation buffer 331 stores the decoded motionparallax vector used in the predicted image generating unit 336. Themotion parallax vector is used as a motion parallax vector of theneighboring region in the process for another region.

The encoded information accumulation buffer 331 supplies the modeinformation or the decoded motion parallax vector of the neighboringregion to one of the spatial correlation predictive vector generatingunit 332 and the temporal parallax correlation predictive vectorgenerating unit 333 corresponding to the type (spatial correlationpredictive vector or temporal parallax correlation predictive vector) ofthe predictive vector designated in the prediction information.

Moreover, the encoded information accumulation buffer 331 supplies thedifference motion parallax vector included in the difference motionparallax information to the arithmetic unit 335. Further, the encodedinformation accumulation buffer 331 supplies the reference image indexincluded in the prediction information to the predicted image generatingunit 336.

The spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit 332 generatesthe spatial correlation predictive vector based on the informationsupplied from the encoded information accumulation buffer 331. Thegeneration method is the same as that of the spatial correlationpredictive vector generating unit 135. However, since the optimalinter-prediction mode is determined in advance, the spatial correlationpredictive vector generating unit 332 may generate the spatialcorrelation predictive vector in the mode only. The spatial correlationpredictive vector generating unit 332 supplies the generated spatialcorrelation predictive vector to the arithmetic unit 335 via theselector 334.

The temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit 333generates a temporal parallax correlation predictive vector based on theinformation such as the information supplied from the encodedinformation accumulation buffer 331, the information such as the view IDand POC of the current region supplied from the lossless decoding unit302, and the information such as the view ID and POC of the referenceimage supplied from the decoded picture buffer 309. The generationmethod is the same as that of the temporal parallax correlationpredictive vector generating unit 136. However, since the optimalinter-prediction mode is determined in advance, the temporal parallaxcorrelation predictive vector generating unit 333 may generate thetemporal parallax correlation predictive vector in the mode only. Thetemporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit 333supplies the generated temporal parallax correlation predictive vectorto the arithmetic unit 335 via the selector 334.

When the spatial correlation predictive vector is supplied from thespatial correlation predictive vector generating unit 332, the selector334 supplies the vector to the arithmetic unit 335. Moreover, thetemporal parallax correlation predictive vector is supplied from thetemporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit 333, theselector 334 supplies the vector to the arithmetic unit 335.

The arithmetic unit 335 adds the difference motion parallax vectorsupplied from the encoded information accumulation buffer 331 to thespatial correlation predictive vector or the temporal parallaxcorrelation predictive vector supplied from the selector 334 toreconstruct the motion parallax vector of the current region. Thearithmetic unit 335 supplies the reconstructed motion parallax vector ofthe current region to the predicted image generating unit 336.

The predicted image generating unit 336 generates a predicted imageusing the reconstructed motion parallax vector of the current regionsupplied from the arithmetic unit 335, the reference image indexsupplied from the encoded information accumulation buffer 331, the pixelvalues of the neighboring images which are the images of the neighboringregion supplied from the decoded picture buffer 309. The predicted imagegenerating unit 336 supplies the generated predicted image pixel valueto the selector 313.

By doing so, the temporal parallax correlation predictive vectorgenerating unit 333 can generate the parallax correlation predictivevector as well as the motion correlation predictive vector similarly tothe temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit 136.Thus, the motion parallax compensation unit 312 can reconstruct theparallax correlation predictive vector even when the vector of thecurrent region is the parallax vector. That is, the image decodingdevice 300 can improve the encoding efficiency since the image decodingdevice 300 can correctly decode the encoded data generated by the imageencoding device 100.

[Flow of Decoding Process]

Next, the flow of the respective processes executed by the imagedecoding device 300 having such a configuration will be described.First, an example of the flow of the decoding process will be describedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 33.

When the decoding process starts, in step S301, the accumulation buffer301 accumulates the bit stream transmitted thereto. In step S302, thelossless decoding unit 302 decodes the bit stream (encoded differenceimage information) supplied from the accumulation buffer 301. In thiscase, various types of information other than the difference imageinformation included in the bit stream, such as intra-predictioninformation or inter-prediction information are also decoded.

In step S303, the inverse quantization unit 303 performs inversequantization on the quantized orthogonal transform coefficients obtainedby the process of step S302. In step S304, the inverse orthogonaltransform unit 304 performs inverse orthogonal transform on theorthogonal transform coefficients having been subjected to inversequantization in step S303.

In step S305, the intra-prediction unit 311 or the motion parallaxcompensation unit 312 performs a prediction process using the suppliedinformation. In step S306, the arithmetic unit 305 adds the predictedimage generated in step S305 to the difference image informationobtained through inverse orthogonal transform in step S304. In this way,the reconstructed image is generated.

In step S307, the loop filter 306 appropriately performs a loopfiltering process including a deblocking filtering process, an adaptiveloop filtering process, and the like with respect to the reconstructedimage obtained in step S306.

In step S308, the screen rearrangement buffer 307 rearranges the decodedimage generated through the filtering process in step S307. That is, theframe order rearranged for encoding by the screen rearrangement buffer102 of the image encoding device 100 is rearranged in the originaldisplay order.

In step S309, the D/A converter 308 performs D/A conversion on thedecoded image in which the frame order is rearranged. The decoded imageis output to a display (not illustrated) and is displayed.

In step S310, the decoded picture buffer 309 stores the decoded imageobtained through the filtering process in step S307. This decoded imageis used as a reference image in the inter-prediction process.

When the process of step S310 ends, the decoding process ends.

[Flow of Prediction Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the prediction process executed in stepS305 of FIG. 33 will be described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 34.

When the prediction process starts, in step S331, the lossless decodingunit 302 determines whether the current region of a processing targethas been subjected to intra-prediction during encoding. When it isdetermined that the current region has been subjected tointra-prediction, the lossless decoding unit 302 proceeds to the processof step S332.

In this case, the intra-prediction unit 311 acquires intra-predictionmode information from the lossless decoding unit 302 in step S332 andgenerates a predicted image by intra-prediction in step S333. When thepredicted image is generated, the intra-prediction unit 311 ends theprediction process and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 33.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S331 the current region is aregion having been subjected to the inter-prediction, the losslessdecoding unit 302 proceeds to the process of step S334. In step S334,the motion parallax compensation unit 312 performs a motion parallaxcompensation process. When the motion parallax compensation processends, the motion parallax compensation unit 312 ends the predictionprocess and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 33.

[Flow of Motion Parallax Compensation Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the motion parallax compensation processexecuted in step S334 of FIG. 34 will be described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 35.

When the motion parallax compensation process starts, in step S351, theencoded information accumulation buffer 331 stores mode information,motion parallax information, and prediction information decoded in stepS351.

In step S352, the spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit332, the temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit333, the selector 334, and the arithmetic unit 335 perform a motionparallax vector generation process to reconstruct a motion parallaxvector of the current region.

When the motion parallax vector is reconstructed, in step S353, thepredicted image generating unit 336 generates a predicted image usingthe motion parallax vector.

When the predicted image is generated, the predicted image generatingunit 336 ends the motion parallax compensation process, and the flowreturns to the flowchart of FIG. 34.

[Flow of Motion Parallax Vector Generation Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the motion parallax vector generationprocess executed in step S352 of FIG. 35 will be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 36.

When the motion parallax vector generation process starts, in step S371,the encoded information accumulation buffer 331 determines whether thismode is a skip mode from the prediction information. When it isdetermined that this mode is the skip mode, the encoded informationaccumulation buffer 331 proceeds to the process of step S372. In stepS372, the spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit 332 tothe arithmetic unit 335 performs a merge mode process to reconstruct themotion parallax vector in the merge mode. In the merge mode process, thesame processes as the processes described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 22 are performed. When the merge mode process ends,the arithmetic unit 335 ends the motion parallax vector generationprocess, and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 35.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S371 of FIG. 36 that it is notthe skip mode, the encoded information accumulation buffer 331 proceedsto the process of step S373. In step S373, the encoded informationaccumulation buffer 331 determines whether this mode is the merge modefrom the prediction information. When it is determined that this mode isthe merge mode, the encoded information accumulation buffer 331 returnsto the process of step S372 to execute the merge mode process.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S373 that this mode is not themerge mode, the encoded information accumulation buffer 331 proceeds tothe process of step S374.

In step S374, the encoded information accumulation buffer 331 acquiresthe index of the reference image. In step S375, the encoded informationaccumulation buffer 331 acquires the difference motion parallax vector.

In step S376, the spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit332 or the temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generatingunit 333 performs a parallax motion vector prediction process. Thisparallax motion vector prediction process is performed in the samemanner as that described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 23.However, in this case, since the prediction method is determined inadvance, any one (one designated by the prediction information) of thespatial correlation prediction process and the temporal parallaxcorrelation prediction process is performed.

In step S377, the arithmetic unit 335 adds the predictive vectorreconstructed in step S376 and the difference motion parallax vector toreconstruct the motion parallax vector.

When the process of step S377 ends, the arithmetic unit 335 ends themotion parallax vector generation process and the flow returns to theflowchart of FIG. 35.

By executing the respective processes in the above-described manner, thetemporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit 333 cangenerate the parallax correlation predictive vector as well as themotion correlation predictive vector similarly to the temporal parallaxcorrelation predictive vector generating unit 136. Thus, the motionparallax compensation unit 312 can reconstruct the parallax correlationpredictive vector even when the vector of the current region is aparallax vector. That is, the image decoding device 300 can improve theencoding efficiency since the image decoding device 300 can correctlydecode the encoded data generated by the image encoding device 100.

3. Third Embodiment

[Point]

In the case of multi-view images, the positions of images are offsetbetween views so that a parallax occurs. Thus, when a block in the viewdirection is selected, even if a block at the same position is selected(referred to), the prediction accuracy of the predicted image maydecrease and there is a possibility that it is not possible to create anappropriate predictive vector.

Thus, when a block in the view direction is selected in order togenerate a predictive vector, a block at a shifted position is selected.That is, the predictive vector is generated using a vector of such aregion that is located at the same position as the current region in astate where the position of an image of the same time as the currentregion is shifted.

The shift amount is calculated in a predetermined order from theparallax vector of the neighboring block. By using the same order inboth an encoding-side device and a decoding-side device, the sameprediction can be performed in both the encoding side and the decodingside.

A neighboring block for computing the shift amount may be explicitlydesignated, and the information thereof may be transmitted from theencoding side to the decoding side. Moreover, the information on a shiftamount computing method may be transmitted from the encoding side to thedecoding side.

By doing so, the image encoding device and the image decoding device cangenerate a predictive vector from blocks aligned between views.Therefore, it is possible to improve the prediction accuracy of thepredicted image and to improve the encoding efficiency.

This will be described in detail below.

[Image Encoding Device]

FIG. 37 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration example ofan image encoding device to which the present technique is applied.

An image encoding device 400 illustrated in FIG. 37 is basically thesame device as the image encoding device 100 described above. However,the image encoding device 400 generates the predictive vector fromblocks aligned between views.

As illustrated in FIG. 37, the image encoding device 400 includes amotion prediction/compensation unit 415 and a base view encoder 421.

The motion prediction/compensation unit 412 generates a predictivevector that refers to blocks in the view direction using the decodedimage acquired from the decoded picture buffer 112 and the motioninformation of the base view acquired from the base view encoder 421.

The base view encoder 421 encodes the base view. The base view encoder421 supplies the decoded image of the base view to the decoded picturebuffer 112 which stores the decoded image. The decoded picture buffer112 also stores the decoded image of a non-base view supplied from theloop filter 111.

The base view encoder 421 supplies the motion information of the baseview to the motion prediction/compensation unit 412.

[Motion Prediction/Compensation Unit]

FIG. 38 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofthe motion prediction/compensation unit 412 of FIG. 37.

As illustrated in FIG. 38, the motion prediction/compensation unit 412includes an inter-mode generating unit 431, a reference indexdetermining unit 432, a vector predicting unit 433, a vector predictingunit 434, and a mode determining unit 435. The information illustratedin FIG. 38 is exchanged between the respective processing units.

In the case of the inter-prediction mode, the vector predicting unit 433generates a predictive vector to generate the predicted image thereof.In the case of the skip mode, the merge mode, or the like, the vectorpredicting unit 434 generates the predictive vector to generate thepredicted image thereof. The predictive vector and the predicted imagegenerated in these vector predicting units are supplied to the modedetermining unit 435.

The mode determining unit 435 determines a mode based on these items ofinformation and supplies mode information indicating the selected modeand the predictive vector of the mode to the lossless encoding unit 106.Moreover, the predicted image of the selected mode is supplied to thepredicted image selector 116.

[Vector Predicting Unit]

FIG. 39 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofthe vector predicting unit 433.

As illustrated in FIG. 39, the vector predicting unit 433 includes amotion/parallax vector search unit 451, a predicted image generatingunit 452, a vector cost calculating unit 453, a vector determining unit454, a vector information accumulation buffer 455, a neighboringblock-based predictive vector generating unit 456, a differentpicture-based predictive vector generating unit 457, and a selector 458.The information illustrated in FIG. 39 is exchanged between therespective processing units.

The different picture-based predictive vector generating unit 457generates a predictive vector that refers to different pictures. Thatis, the different picture-based predictive vector generating unit 457refers to different pictures in the temporal direction and the viewdirection to generate the predictive vector. When generating thepredictive vector that refers to different pictures in the viewdirection, the different picture-based predictive vector generating unit457 acquires the motion information of the base view from the base viewencoder 421 and generates a predictive vector using the motioninformation.

The predictive vector generated by the different picture-basedpredictive vector generating unit 457 is supplied to the vector costcalculating unit 453 via the selector 458, and the cost function valueused for the mode determination is calculated.

[Different Picture-Based Predictive Vector Generating Unit]

FIG. 40 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofthe different picture-based predictive vector generating unit 457.

As illustrated in FIG. 40, the different picture-based predictive vectorgenerating unit 457 includes a parallax vector determining unit 471, aninter-view reference vector generating unit 472, and an intra-viewreference vector generating unit 473.

The parallax vector determining unit 471 calculates a shift amount ofthe reference image from the parallax vector of the neighboring block.The shift amount calculating method is optional. For example, any one ofthe parallax vectors of the neighboring blocks may be selected and maybe used as the shift amount. Moreover, for example, an average value ora median value of the parallax vectors of the neighboring blocks may beused as the shift amount.

The parallax vector determining unit 471 supplies the shift amountobtained in this manner to the inter-view reference vector generatingunit 472 as the parallax vector.

The inter-view reference vector generating unit 472 generates apredictive vector that refers to different pictures in the viewdirection.

The inter-view reference vector generating unit 472 generates thepredictive vector by taking the parallax vector into consideration usingthe parallax vector (shift amount) selected by the parallax vectordetermining unit 471, the motion vector (also including the parallaxvector in the case of the non-base view) of the base view supplied fromthe base view encoder 421, and information such as the reference imageindex or the inter-view motion/parallax vector of the same time, whichis read from the vector information accumulation buffer 455.

That is, the inter-view reference vector generating unit 472 aligns(shifts) the images of the view referring to using the shift amountcalculated by the parallax vector determining unit 471. Moreover, theinter-view reference vector generating unit 472 generates the predictivevector from the aligned blocks.

The inter-view reference vector generating unit 472 supplies thegenerated predictive vector to the vector cost calculating unit 453 viathe selector 458 (not illustrated in FIG. 40).

The intra-view reference vector generating unit 473 generates thepredictive vector that refers to different pictures in the temporaldirection.

By doing so, the inter-view reference vector generating unit 472 cancreate an appropriate predictive vector with high prediction accuracy.In this way, the image encoding device 400 can improve the encodingefficiency.

[Flow of Motion Prediction/Compensation Process]

An example of the flow of the motion prediction/compensation processwill be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 41.

When the motion prediction/compensation process starts, in step S401,the inter-mode generating unit 431 selects any one of aninter-prediction mode, a skip mode, a merge mode, and the like andgenerates an inter mode which is information designating the selectedmode.

In step S402, the inter-mode generating unit 431 determines whether thegenerated inter mode is the inter-prediction mode.

When the inter mode is the inter-prediction mode, the inter-modegenerating unit 431 determines the reference image in step S403, and thevector predicting unit 433 executes the vector prediction process instep S404.

Moreover, when the inter mode is not the inter-prediction mode, in stepS404, the vector predicting unit 434 performs a vector predictionprocess.

In step S405, the mode determining unit 435 determines the mode based onthe predictive vector or the like generated in step S404. This mode isused in the process of step S401.

In step S405, the lossless encoding unit 106 encodes the information ofthe mode determined in step S405.

[Flow of Vector Prediction Process]

An example of the flow of the vector prediction process executed by thevector predicting unit 433 in step S404 of FIG. 41 will be describedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 42.

When the vector prediction process starts, the motion/parallax vectorsearch unit 451 searches vectors in step S421.

In step S422, the predicted image generating unit 452 generates apredicted image.

In step S423, the vector cost calculating unit 453 generates a residualimage.

In step S424, the neighboring block-based predictive vector generatingunit 456 and the different picture-based predictive vector generatingunit 457 generates a predictive vector from the encoded vector.

In step S425, the vector cost calculating unit 453 calculates theresidue of the vector.

In step S426, the vector determining unit 454 determines a predictivevector having the smallest cost. This processing result is reflected onthe process of step S424.

In step S427, the vector information accumulation buffer 455 accumulatesthe vector information and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 41.

[Flow of Predictive Vector Generation Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the predictive vector generation processexecuted in step S424 of FIG. 42 will be described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 43.

When the predictive vector generation process starts, in step S441, theselector 458 determines which block is to be referred to.

When it is determined that the neighboring block of the picture is to bereferred to, in step S442, the neighboring block-based predictive vectorgenerating unit 456 sets the encoded vector of the neighboring block tothe predictive vector and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 42.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S441 that the block of adifferent picture is to be referred to, the selector 458 proceeds to theprocess of step S443 to determine a view of which the picture is to bereferred to.

When it is determined that the picture of a different view is to bereferred to, in step S444, the different picture-based predictive vectorgenerating unit 457 generates a predictive vector of the view directionfrom a encoded co-located block that is expanded in the view directionand the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 42.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S443 that the picture of thesame view is to be referred to, in step S445, the differentpicture-based predictive vector generating unit 457 generates thepredictive vector of the temporal direction from the encoded co-locatedblock and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 42.

[Flow of Different Picture-Based Predictive Vector Generation Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the different picture-based predictivevector generation process executed in step S444 of FIG. 43 will bedescribed with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 44.

When the different picture-based predictive vector generation processstarts, in step S461, the parallax vector determining unit 471determines a shift amount from the parallax vector of the neighboringblock.

In step S462, the inter-view reference vector generating unit 472selects a co-located block at a shifted position.

In step S463, the inter-view reference vector generating unit 472generates the predictive vector from the co-located block and the flowreturns to the flowchart of FIG. 43.

[Flow of Shift Amount Determining Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the shift amount determining processexecuted in step S461 of FIG. 44 will be described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 45.

In step S481, the parallax vector determining unit 471 determineswhether there is a plurality of blocks in which the value of theY-direction vector of the parallax vector of the neighboring block isnot zero.

The neighboring block is a block located near (including “adjacent”) acurrent block (current block) of a processing target. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 46, a block (Left) adjacent to the left of a currentblock (Curr), a block (Above) adjacent above the current block, and ablock (Above Right) adjacent to the top right corner of the currentblock are used as the neighboring blocks. Naturally, a block other thanthese blocks may be included in the neighboring block, and part or allof these blocks may not be used as the neighboring block.

The positions of the neighboring blocks may be the same for all blocksand may be different from block to block. For example, when a blockadjacent to a screen end or a slice boundary are used as the currentblock, part of the neighboring blocks may be set to be not usable.

When it is determined in step S481 that there is not a plurality ofblocks in which the value of the Y-direction vector is non-zero, theparallax vector determining unit 471 proceeds to the process of stepS482 to use the parallax vector in the X-direction of the target as theshift amount, and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 44.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S481 that there is a pluralityof blocks in which the value of the Y-direction vector is non-zero, theparallax vector determining unit 471 proceeds to the process of stepS483 to set the average value of the parallax vectors in the X-directionof the target as the shift amount, and the flow returns to the flowchartof FIG. 44.

By executing the processes in the above-described manner, the motionprediction/compensation unit 415 can create an appropriate predictivevector with high prediction accuracy. In this way, the image encodingdevice 400 can improve the encoding efficiency.

4. Fourth Embodiment

[Image Decoding Device]

FIG. 47 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration example ofan image decoding device to which the present technique is applied.

An image decoding device 500 illustrated in FIG. 47 is basically thesame device as the image decoding device 300 described above. However,the image decoding device 500 generates a predictive vector from blocksaligned between views similarly to the image encoding device 400.

As illustrated in FIG. 47, the image decoding device 500 includes amotion compensation unit 512 and a base view decoder 521.

The motion compensation unit 512 generates a predictive vector thatrefers to blocks in the view direction using the decoded image acquiredfrom the decoded picture buffer 309 and the motion information of thebase view acquired from the base view decoder 521.

The base view decoder 521 encodes the base view. The base view decoder521 supplies the decoded image of the base view to the decoded picturebuffer 309 which stores the decoded image. The decoded picture buffer309 also stores the decoded image of the non-base view supplied from theloop filter 306.

The base view decoder 521 supplies the motion information of the baseview to the motion compensation unit 512.

[Motion Compensation Unit]

FIG. 48 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofthe motion compensation unit 512 of FIG. 47.

As illustrated in FIG. 48, the motion compensation unit 512 includes amode determining unit 531, a reference index determining unit 532, avector decoding unit 533, and a vector decoding unit 534. Theinformation illustrated in FIG. 48 is exchanged between the respectiveprocessing units.

In the case of the inter-prediction mode, the vector decoding unit 533decodes a residual vector transmitted from the image encoding device 400to generate a predictive vector. Moreover, the vector decoding unit 533generates a predicted image using the predictive vector. The predictedimage is supplied to the predicted image selector 313.

In the case of the skip mode or the merge mode, the vector decoding unit534 decodes the residual vector transmitted from the image encodingdevice 400 to generate the predictive vector. Moreover, the vectordecoding unit 534 generates a predicted image using the predictivevector. The predicted image is supplied to the predicted image selector313.

[Vector Decoding Unit]

FIG. 49 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofthe vector decoding unit 533.

As illustrated in FIG. 49, the vector decoding unit 533 includes aselector 551, a neighboring block-based predictive vector generatingunit 552, a different picture-based predictive vector generating unit553, a selector 554, an arithmetic unit 555, a predicted imagegenerating unit 556, and a vector information accumulation buffer 557.The information illustrated in FIG. 49 is exchanged between therespective processing units.

The selector 551 supplies the vector index supplied from the losslessdecoding unit 302 to the neighboring block-based predictive vectorgenerating unit 552 (in the case of the skip mode, the merge mode, orthe like) or to the different picture-based predictive vector generatingunit 553 (in the case of the inter-prediction mode) according to theinter mode.

The neighboring block-based predictive vector generating unit 552supplied with the vector index generates a predictive vector from theneighboring blocks in the current picture using the vector informationacquired from the vector information accumulation buffer 557.

The different picture-based predictive vector generating unit 553supplied with the vector index generates a predictive vector fromdifferent pictures in the current view using the vector informationacquired from the vector information accumulation buffer 557. Moreover,the different picture-based predictive vector generating unit 553generates the predictive vector from different pictures of differentviews using the vector information acquired from the vector informationaccumulation buffer 557 or the motion information of the base viewsupplied from the base view decoder 521.

The different picture-based predictive vector generating unit 553 is thesame processing unit as the parallax vector determining unit 471 of thedifferent picture-based predictive vector generating unit 457 andgenerates the predictive vector according to the same method.

The selector 554 supplies the predictive vector generated by theneighboring block-based predictive vector generating unit 552 or thepredictive vector generated by the different picture-based predictivevector generating unit 553 to the arithmetic unit 555.

The arithmetic unit 555 adds the difference value (residue vector) ofthe motion/parallax vector supplied from the lossless decoding unit 302and the predictive vector to generate a motion/parallax vector of thecurrent region. The arithmetic unit 555 supplies the motion/parallaxvector to the predicted image generating unit 556. Moreover, thearithmetic unit 555 supplies the motion/parallax vector to the vectorinformation accumulation buffer 557 which stores the motion/parallaxvector.

The predicted image generating unit 556 generates a predicted imageusing the motion/parallax vector of the current region supplied from thearithmetic unit 555, the reference image index supplied from thelossless decoding unit 302, and the decoded image pixel value suppliedfrom the decoded picture buffer 309. The predicted image generating unit556 supplies the generated predicted image pixel value to the predictedimage selector 313.

[Different Picture-Based Predictive Vector Generating Unit]

FIG. 50 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration example ofthe different picture-based predictive vector generating unit 553.

As illustrated in FIG. 50, the different picture-based predictive vectorgenerating unit 553 includes a parallax vector determining unit 571, aninter-view reference vector generating unit 572, and an intra-viewreference vector generating unit 573.

The parallax vector determining unit 571, the inter-view referencevector generating unit 572, and the intra-view reference vectorgenerating unit 573 are the same processing units and perform the sameprocesses as the parallax vector determining unit 471, the inter-viewreference vector generating unit 472, and the intra-view referencevector generating unit 473 of the different picture-based predictivevector generating unit 457, respectively.

That is, the parallax vector determining unit 571 calculates a shiftamount of an image of a view of a reference destination according to thesame method as the parallax vector determining unit 471 and shifts theimage.

Thus, the different picture-based predictive vector generating unit 553can correctly decode the residual vector to generate the sameappropriate predictive vector with high prediction accuracy as thepredictive vector generated by the different picture-based predictivevector generating unit 457. That is, the vector decoding unit 533 cangenerate the same predicted image as the predicted image generated bythe vector predicting unit 433. Therefore, the image decoding device 500can improve the encoding efficiency since the image decoding device 500can correctly decode the encoded data generated by the image encodingdevice 400.

The shift amount calculating method of the parallax vector determiningunit 571 is not limited as long as it is the same as the parallax vectordetermining unit 471 but the method is optional. For example, any one ofthe parallax vectors of the neighboring blocks may be selected and theselected parallax vector may be used as the shift amount. Moreover, forexample, an average value or a median value of the parallax vectors ofthe neighboring blocks may be used as the shift amount.

[Flow of Motion Compensation Process]

An example of the flow of the motion compensation process will bedescribed with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 51.

When the motion prediction/compensation process starts, the modedetermining unit 531 decodes the inter mode in step S501 and determineswhether the inter mode is an inter-prediction mode in step S502.

When the inter mode is the inter-prediction mode, the vector decodingunit 533 determines a reference image in step S503 and performs a vectordecoding process to decode the residual vector to generate a predictedimage in step S504.

Moreover, when the inter mode is not the inter-prediction mode, thevector decoding unit 534 performs a vector decoding process to decodethe residual vector to generate a predicted image in step S504.

[Flow of Vector Decoding Process]

An example of the flow of the vector decoding process executed by thevector decoding unit 533 in step S504 of FIG. 51 will be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 52.

When the vector decoding process starts, in step S521, the losslessdecoding unit 302 decodes the residual vector (difference vector).

In step S522, the lossless decoding unit 302 decodes the reference imageindex.

In step S523, the lossless decoding unit 302 decodes the vector index.

In step S524, the neighboring block-based predictive vector generatingunit 552 and the different picture-based predictive vector generatingunit 553 generate a predictive vector from the encoded vector. Thearithmetic unit 555 adds the predictive vector to the residual vector togenerate the motion/parallax vector of the current region.

In step S525, the predicted image generating unit 556 generates thepredicted image using the motion/parallax vector generated in step S524.

In step S526, the vector information accumulation buffer 455 accumulatesthe vector information and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 51.

[Flow of Predictive Vector Generation Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the predictive vector generation processexecuted in step S524 of FIG. 52 will be described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 53.

When the predictive vector generation process starts, in step S541, theselector 554 determines a block that is to be referred to.

When it is determined that a neighboring block of a current picture isto be referred to, in step S542, the neighboring block-based predictivevector generating unit 552 uses the encoded vector of the neighboringblock as the predictive vector and the flow returns to the flowchart ofFIG. 52.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S541 that the block of adifferent picture is to be referred to, the selector 554 proceeds to theprocess of step S543 to determine a view of which the picture is to bereferred to.

When it is determined that the picture of a different view is to bereferred to, in step S544, the different picture-based predictive vectorgenerating unit 553 generates a predictive vector of the view directionfrom a encoded co-located block that is expanded in the view directionand the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 52.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S543 that the picture of thesame view is to be referred to, in step S545, the differentpicture-based predictive vector generating unit 553 generates thepredictive vector of the temporal direction from the encoded co-locatedblock and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 52.

[Flow of Different Picture-Based Predictive Vector Generation Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the different picture-based predictivevector generation process executed in step S544 of FIG. 53 will bedescribed with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 54.

When the different picture-based predictive vector generation processstarts, in step S561, the parallax vector determining unit 571determines a shift amount from the parallax vector of the neighboringblock.

In step S562, the inter-view reference vector generating unit 572selects a co-located block at a shifted position.

In step S563, the inter-view reference vector generating unit 572generates the predictive vector from the co-located block and the flowreturns to the flowchart of FIG. 53.

That is, the process is performed in the same flow as the flowchart ofFIG. 44.

[Flow of Shift Amount Determining Process]

Next, an example of the flow of the shift amount determining processexecuted in step S561 of FIG. 54 will be described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 55.

In step S581, the parallax vector determining unit 571 determineswhether there is a plurality of blocks in which the value of theY-direction vector of the parallax vector of the neighboring block isnon-zero.

When it is determined in step S581 that there is not a plurality ofblocks in which the value of the Y-direction vector is non-zero, theparallax vector determining unit 571 proceeds to the process of stepS582 to use the parallax vector in the X-direction of the target as theshift amount, and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 54.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S581 that there is a pluralityof blocks in which the value of the Y-direction vector is non-zero, theparallax vector determining unit 571 proceeds to the process of stepS583 to use the average value of the parallax vectors in the X-directionof the target as the shift amount, and the flow returns to the flowchartof FIG. 54.

That is, the process is performed in the same flow as the flowchart ofFIG. 45. The same is true for the neighboring block.

By executing the processes in the above-described manner, the motioncompensation unit 512 can create an appropriate predictive vector withhigh prediction accuracy. In this way, the image decoding device 500 canimprove the encoding efficiency.

As described above, the information such as the neighboring block forcalculating the shift amount and the shift amount computing method maybe transmitted from the image encoding device 400 to the image decodingdevice 500.

5. Fifth Embodiment

[Predictive Vector]

As described in the third and fourth embodiments, a block at a shiftedposition can be selected when a block of a view direction is selected inorder to generate a predictive vector.

Candidates for the predictive vector may be generated using the vector(co-located block) of a co-located block which is a block at the sameposition, belonging to the picture of a different time, of the same viewas the current region, or a global parallax vector.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 56, any one (for example, a left-eyeimage) of the right and left images of a 3D image is used as a base viewand the other image (for example, a right-eye image) is used as adependent view.

When a vector (coding vector) 621 of a current region 611 of a currentpicture 601 of the dependent view is predicted, a predictive vector maybe obtained using a motion vector (co-located vector) 622 of aco-located block 612 at the same position as the current region, of aco-located picture 602 which is a picture of a different time, of thesame view as the current region, for example, or a global parallaxvector (not illustrated).

For example, a vector 623 of a block 613 at a position shifted by theco-located block 622 or the global parallax vector (vector 631) from thesame position as the current region 11 of a picture 603 of the base viewof the same time as the current picture 601 may be used as a predictivevector (PMV) of a coding vector (MV) 621. Moreover, the co-located block622 or the global parallax vector may be used as the predictive vectorof the coding vector (MV) 621.

By using the same order in both an encoding-side device and adecoding-side device, the same prediction can be performed in both theencoding side and the decoding side.

Information indicating which one of the co-located block and the globalparallax vector will be used, information on the co-located block or theglobal parallax vector, and the like may be explicitly designated andthe information thereof may be transmitted from the encoding side to thedecoding side. Moreover, the information on a shift amount computingmethod may be transmitted from the encoding side to the decoding side.

By doing so, the image encoding device and the image decoding device cangenerate a predictive vector from blocks aligned similarly betweenviews. Therefore, it is possible to improve the prediction accuracy ofthe predicted image and to improve the encoding efficiency.

[Global Parallax Vector]

Next, the global parallax vector will be described. The global parallaxvector is a representative parallax vector that is global (for each ofpredetermined units such as pictures, slices, LCUs, or CUs, forexample). For example, the global parallax vector generated for eachpicture indicates a parallax amount between views. A method ofgenerating the global parallax vector is optional.

A specific example of the global parallax vector is disclosed in JunghakNam, Hyomin Choi, Sunmi Yoo, Woong Lim, Donggyu Sim, “3D-HEVC-CE3 resulton KWU's advanced motion and disparity prediction method based on globaldisparity,” INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR STANDARDISATION ORGANISATIONINTERNATIONALE DE NORMALISATION ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11 CODING OF MOVINGPICTURES AND AUDIO, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11 MPEG2011/M23620, February2012, San Jose, Calif.

FIG. 57 is a diagram for describing a parallax and a depth.

As illustrated in FIG. 57, when a color image of a subject M is capturedby a camera c1 disposed at a position C1 and a camera c2 disposed at aposition C2, a depth Z which is a distance of the subject M in the depthdirection from the camera c1 (camera c2) is defined by Expression (1)below.Z=(L/d)×f  (1)

“L” is the distance (hereinafter, referred to as an inter-cameradistance) in the horizontal direction between the positions C1 and C2.Moreover, “d” is a value (that is, a parallax (disparity)) obtained bysubtracting a distance u2 in the horizontal direction from the center ofthe color image, of the position of the subject M on the color imagecaptured by the camera c2 from a distance u1 in the horizontal directionfrom the center of the color image, of the position of the subject M onthe color image captured by the camera c1. Further, “f” is a focaldistance of the camera c1, and in Expression (1), it is assumed that thefocal distances of the cameras c1 and c2 are the same.

That is, the parallax d is defined by Expression (2) below.

$\begin{matrix}\left\lbrack {{Mathematical}\mspace{14mu}{formula}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack & \; \\{d = {\frac{f}{Z} \cdot L}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

As illustrated in Expression (1) or (2), the parallax d and the depth Zcan be converted uniquely. Thus, in the present specification, an imageindicating the parallax d of the 2-view color image captured by thecameras c1 and c2 and an image indicating the depth Z will becollectively referred to as a depth image (parallax image).

The depth image (parallax image) may be an image that indicates theparallax d or the depth Z. A normalized value of the parallax d, anormalized value of a reciprocal 1/Z of the depth Z, or the like ratherthan the parallax d or the depth Z itself may be employed as the pixelvalue of the depth image (parallax image).

The depth Z can be obtained by Expression (3) below.

$\begin{matrix}\left\lbrack {{Mathematical}\mspace{14mu}{formula}\mspace{14mu} 2} \right\rbrack & \; \\{Z = \frac{1}{{\frac{d}{255} \cdot \left( {\frac{1}{Z_{near}} - \frac{1}{Z_{far}}} \right)} + \frac{1}{Z_{far}}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

In Expression (3), Z_(far) is the largest value of the depth Z, andZ_(near) is the smallest value of the depth Z. The largest value Z_(far)and the smallest value Z_(near) may be set for one screen unit or may beset for a plurality of screen units.

As described above, in the present specification, by taking the factthat the parallax d and the depth Z can be converted uniquely intoconsideration, an image of which the pixel value is a normalized value Iof the parallax d and an image of which the pixel value is a normalizedvalue y of the reciprocal 1/Z of the depth Z will be collectivelyreferred to a depth image (parallax image). In this example, although acolor format of the depth image (parallax image) is YUV420 or YUV400,another color format may be used.

When the information of the value I or y itself rather than the pixelvalue of the depth image (parallax image) is focused on, the value I ory is used as depth information (parallax information). Further, one thatmaps the value I or y is used as a depth map (parallax map).

[Generation of Predictive Vector]

The predictive vector is generated according to a method correspondingto properties of both a coding vector and a co-located vector, forexample, as in the table illustrated in FIG. 58.

For example, as illustrated on the sixth row from the bottom of thetable of FIG. 58, when both the coding vector and the co-located vectorare motion vectors, the co-located vector is used as a predictive vectorcandidate.

Moreover, for example, as illustrated on the second row from the bottomof the table of FIG. 58, when both the coding vector and the co-locatedvector are parallax vectors (inter-view vectors), the co-located vectoris used as a predictive vector candidate.

In contrast, for example, as illustrated on the fifth row from thebottom of the table of FIG. 58, when the coding vector is a motionvector and the co-located vector is a parallax vector (inter-viewvector), a motion vector of a base view of a block shifted by aco-located vector is used as a predictive vector candidate.

Moreover, for example, as illustrated on the fourth row from the bottomof the table of FIG. 58, when the coding vector is a motion vector andthe co-located block is an intra mode, a motion vector of a base view ofa block shifted by a global parallax vector is used as a predictivevector candidate.

Further, for example, as illustrated on the third row from the bottom ofthe table of FIG. 58, when the coding vector is a parallax vector(inter-view vector) and the co-located vector is a motion vector, theglobal parallax vector is used as a predictive vector candidate.

Further, for example, as illustrated on the first row from the bottom ofthe table of FIG. 58, when the coding vector is a parallax vector(inter-view vector) and the co-located block is an intra mode, theglobal parallax vector is used as a predictive vector candidate.

By increasing the number of methods for generating the candidates forpredictive vectors, it is possible to improve the prediction accuracy ofthe predictive vector and to improve the encoding efficiency.

[Image Encoding Device]

In this case, the configuration example of the image encoding device isthe same as that of the image encoding device 400 illustrated in FIGS.35 to 38, and the description thereof will not be provided.

[Flow of Process]

Moreover, the motion prediction/compensation process of this case isperformed in the same manner as that described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 39. Moreover, the vector prediction process of thiscase is performed in the same manner as that described with reference tothe flowchart of FIG. 40. Thus, the description of these processes willnot be provided.

An example of the flow of the predictive vector generation process ofthis case will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 59.

When the predictive vector generation process starts, in step S601, theselector 458 determines which block is to be referred to.

When it is determined that the neighboring block is to be referred to,the flow proceeds to step S602. In step S602, the neighboringblock-based predictive vector generating unit 456 uses an encoded vectorof the neighboring block as a predictive vector. When the process ofstep S602 ends, the predictive vector generation process ends, and theflow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 40.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S601 that a block of a differentpicture is selected as a reference destination, the flow proceeds tostep S603. In step S603, the different picture-based predictive vectorgenerating unit 457 uses an encoded vector of a block of a differenttime/view as a predictive vector. When the process of step S603 ends,the predictive vector generation process ends and the flow returns tothe flowchart of FIG. 40.

Next, an example of the flow of the different picture-based predictivevector generation process executed in step S603 of FIG. 59 will bedescribed with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 60 and 61.

When the different picture-based predictive vector generation processstarts, in step S621, the parallax vector determining unit 471determines whether the coding vector is a motion vector. When it isdetermined that the coding vector is a motion vector, the flow proceedsto step S622.

In step S622, the parallax vector determining unit 471 determines themode of the co-located block. When it is determined that the mode of theco-located block is a motion vector, the flow proceeds to step S623.

In step S623, the intra-view reference vector generating unit 473 setsthe co-located vector as the predictive vector. When the process of stepS623 ends, the different picture-based predictive vector generationprocess ends, and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 59.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S622 that the mode of theco-located block is an intra-prediction, the flow proceeds to step S624.

In step S624, the inter-view reference vector generating unit 472obtains a global parallax vector and sets a vector of a block of a baseview shifted by the global parallax vector as a predictive vector. Whenthe process of step S624 ends, the different picture-based predictivevector generation process ends and the flow returns to the flowchart ofFIG. 59.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S622 that the mode of theco-located block is a parallax vector, the flow proceeds to step S625.

In step S625, the inter-view reference vector generating unit 472 sets avector of a block of a base view shifted by the co-located vector as apredictive vector. When the process of step S625 ends, the differentpicture-based predictive vector generation process ends, and the flowreturns to the flowchart of FIG. 59.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S621 that the coding vector is aparallax vector, the flow proceeds to the flowchart of FIG. 61.

In step S631 of FIG. 61, the parallax vector determining unit 471determines the mode of the co-located block. When it is determined thatthe mode of the co-located block is a parallax vector, the flow proceedsto step S632.

In step S632, the intra-view reference vector generating unit 473 setsthe co-located vector as the predictive vector. When the process of stepS632 ends, the different picture-based predictive vector generationprocess ends, and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 59.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S631 that the mode of theco-located block is a motion vector, the flow proceeds to step S634. Instep S634, the inter-view reference vector generating unit 472 sets theglobal parallax vector as the predictive vector. When the process ofstep S634 ends, the different picture-based predictive vector generationprocess ends, and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 59.

Further, when it is determined in step S631 that the mode of theco-located block is an intra-prediction, the flow proceeds to step S635.In step S635, the inter-view reference vector generating unit 472 setsthe global parallax vector as the predictive vector. When the process ofstep S635 ends, the different picture-based predictive vector generationprocess ends, and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 59.

By executing the respective processes in the above-described manner, theimage encoding device of this case can generate a predictive vectorusing the co-located block and the global parallax vector. Due to this,the image encoding device can improve the prediction accuracy of thepredictive vector and improve the encoding efficiency.

[Image Decoding Device]

Next, an image decoding device corresponding to the image encodingdevice of this case will be described. A configuration example of theimage decoding device of this case is the same as that of the imagedecoding device 500 illustrated in FIGS. 45 to 48 similarly to the caseof the image encoding device, and the description thereof will not beprovided.

[Flow of Process]

Next, the flow of various processes executed by the image decodingdevice of this case will be described. In this case, the image decodingdevice performs basically the same process as the image encoding device.That is, the motion compensation process is executed in the same manneras that described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 49. Moreover,the vector decoding process is executed in the same manner as thatdescribed with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 50.

The predictive vector generation process is executed in the same manneras that (that is, that executed by the image encoding device) describedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 59.

However, in this case, the selector 551 performs the process of stepS601. Moreover, in step S602, the neighboring block-based predictivevector generating unit 552 uses a decoded vector of the neighboringblock as a predictive vector. Further, in step S603, the differentpicture-based predictive vector generating unit 553 uses a decodedvector of a block of a different time/view as the predictive vector.

Moreover, the different picture-based predictive vector generationprocess is executed in the same manner as that (that is, that executedby the image encoding device) described with reference to the flowchartsof FIGS. 60 and 61.

However, in this case, the parallax vector determining unit 571 performsthe processes of steps S621, S622, and S631, the intra-view referencevector generating unit 573 performs the processes of steps S623 andS632, and the inter-view reference vector generating unit 572 executesthe processes of steps S624, S625, S634, and S635.

By executing the respective processes in this manner, the image decodingdevice of this case can generate the predictive vector using theco-located block and the global parallax vector similarly to the imageencoding device. Due to this, the image decoding device can improve theprediction accuracy of the predictive vector and improve the encodingefficiency.

6. Sixth Embodiment

[Type of Reference Image]

For example, in the case of HEVC, a reference image has two types whichare a short reference picture and a long reference picture. Since theshort reference picture is a picture that is temporally near theencoding picture, a scaling process based on the temporal distance isperformed on the predictive vector. In contrast, since the longreference picture is a picture that is temporally distant from theencoding picture, scaling on the predictive vector does not createmeaning, and thus, is not performed.

By using these reference pictures appropriately according to a motion ofan image or the like, it is possible to further decrease the codingrate.

Although the types (the short reference picture or the long referencepicture) of the reference pictures of the coding vector and thepredictive vector are different, the predictive vector is set to beavailable.

When the types of the reference pictures of the coding vector and thepredictive vector are different, it is expected that the correlation ofthese vectors is low. Thus, there is a possibility that the encodingefficiency decreases if the vectors are included in a vector candidatelist. For example, there is a possibility that a vector having highercorrelation is relegated toward the rear of the candidate list and thecoding rate of the index for designating the vector increases. Moreover,for example, there is a possibility that a vector having highercorrelation is relegated toward the rear of the candidate list, excludedfrom the candidate list, and cannot be designated.

Thus, when the types (the short reference picture or the long referencepicture) of the reference picture of the coding vector and thepredictive vector are different, the predictive vector is set to be notavailable.

Since the property of a vector that refers to the short referencepicture is different from the property of a vector that refers to thelong reference picture, it is expected that correlation is low. Thus, byexcluding the vectors from the candidate vector in this case, it ispossible to improve the encoding efficiency.

For example, FIG. 62 is a diagram for describing an example of theaspect of a reference image of a fixed background application. In thecase of such a moving image (fixed background application) that a movingobject is present on the front side of a background image of a stillimage, since the background (particularly, an occlusion region) which isa fixed region refers to a long reference picture, the motion vectortends to be 0. In contrast, since the moving object on the front siderefers to a short reference picture, the motion vector occurs. If thetypes of reference pictures are different in this manner, thecorrelation of motion vectors is low (A of FIG. 64). Therefore, asdescribed above, when the types of the reference pictures of the codingvector and the predictive vector are different, by excluding the vectorsfrom the candidate vector, it is possible to improve the encodingefficiency.

Moreover, for example, FIG. 63 is a diagram for describing an example ofthe aspect of a reference image of a stereo application. In the case ofsuch a moving image (stereo application) that an image (left-eye image)for the left eye and an image (right-eye image) for the right eye areprepared for stereoscopic view, when the dependent view (in thisexample, the right-eye image) is encoded, the base view (in thisexample, the left-eye image) is designated as a long reference picture,and an encoded picture of the dependent view is designated as a shortreference picture.

When the dependent view is referred to, scaling can be performed sincethe frame IDs of a reference destination and a reference source aredifferent. However, when the base view is referred to, the frame IDs ofthe reference destination and the reference source are identical. Thus,during the scaling, the denominator may become 0, and the scaling isdifficult. Therefore, in HEVC or the like, the base view is designatedas a long reference picture in which the scaling is not performed.

Therefore, in the case of the stereo application, a vector that refersto the long reference picture becomes a parallax vector and a vectorthat refers to the short reference picture becomes a motion vector.Thus, the correlation of motion (parallax) vectors is low betweenpicture types (B of FIG. 64). Therefore, as described above, when thetypes of the reference pictures of the coding vector and the predictivevector are different, by excluding the vectors from the candidatevector, the encoding efficiency can be improved.

In the following description, the block (CU, PU, or the like) of aprocessing target is referred to as an encoding block (or current)block. Moreover, a block that is temporally near the encoding block(that is, a co-located block of a picture that is temporally near apicture (current picture) in which the encoding block is present) isreferred to as a temporal correlation block. Further, a block that isspatially near the encoding block (that is, a block that is adjacent tothe encoding block in a current picture or a block positioned near theencoding block) is referred to as a neighboring block.

FIG. 65 illustrates an example of a neighboring block. The blocks atpositions A0 and A1 are neighboring blocks of the encoding block(current block) and are also referred to as left blocks. Moreover, theblocks at positions B0, B1, and B2 are neighboring blocks of theencoding block (current block) and are also referred to as upper blocks.

[Summary of Handling of Motion (Parallax) Vector]

FIG. 66 is a diagram for describing an example of handling of a temporalcorrelation block and a neighboring block. In vector prediction, whethera motion (parallax) vector of a temporal correlation block will beincluded in a candidate vector and whether scaling will be performed aredetermined as in the table illustrated in A of FIG. 66.

That is, for example, when the type of a reference image of the encodingblock is identical to the type of a reference image of a temporalcorrelation block (that is, when both reference images are shortreference images or long reference images), a motion (parallax) vectorof the temporal correlation block is used as a candidate. When the typesof both reference images are not identical, the vectors are excludedfrom the candidate. Further, when both the reference image of theencoding block and the reference image of the temporal correlation blockare short reference images, scaling of the motion (parallax) vector ofthe temporal correlation block is performed. When both reference imagesare long reference images, scaling of the motion (parallax) vector ofthe temporal correlation block is not performed.

Moreover, in vector prediction, whether a motion (parallax) vector of aneighboring block will be included in a candidate vector and whetherscaling will be performed are determined as in the table illustrated inB of FIG. 66. That is, this is the same as the case of the temporalcorrelation block.

That is, for example, when the type of the reference image of theencoding block is identical to the type of the reference image of theneighboring block (that is, when both reference images are shortreference images or long reference images), the motion (parallax) vectorof the neighboring block is used as a candidate. When the types of bothreference images are not identical, the vectors are excluded from thecandidate. Further, when both the reference image of the encoding blockand the reference image of the neighboring block are short referenceimages, scaling of the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboring blockis performed. When both reference images are long reference images,scaling of the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboring block is notperformed.

[Flow of Process During Encoding]

An example of the flow of the process during encoding for realizing suchcontrol will be described below. Such control can be realized by theimage encoding device 400 (FIG. 37) described in the third embodiment.

The encoding process of the image encoding device 400 is performed inthe same manner as that (first embodiment) described with reference tothe flowchart of FIG. 20.

An example of the flow of a PU motion (parallax) vector and referenceindex generation process executed by the motion prediction/compensationunit 415 as the process corresponding to the inter-motion predictionprocess executed in step S104 of FIG. 20 will be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 67.

In step S701, the inter-mode generating unit 431 (FIG. 38) generates aninter mode. In step S702, the inter-mode generating unit 431 determineswhether the inter mode is a merge (skip) mode.

When it is determined that the inter mode is the merge (skip) mode, theflow proceeds to step S703. In step S703, the reference indexdetermining unit 432 and the vector predicting unit 434 performs theprocess of the merge (skip) mode to generate a motion (parallax) vectorand a reference index. When the process of step S703 ends, the flowproceeds to step S707.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S702 that the inter mode is notthe merge (skip) mode, the process proceeds to step S704. In step S704,the vector predicting unit 433 acquires a residual motion (parallax)vector and a reference index. In step S705, the vector predicting unit433 performs the process of the AMVP mode to generate a predictivemotion (parallax) vector. In step S706, the mode determining unit 435adds the residual motion (parallax) vector and the predictive motion(parallax) vector.

In step S707, the mode determining unit 435 returns to step S701 beforeall modes are processed and determines an optimal mode when all modeshave been processed.

In step S708, the lossless encoding unit 106 encodes the selectedinformation. When the process of step S708 ends, the flow returns to theflowchart of FIG. 20.

Next, an example of the flow of the merge (skip) mode process executedin step S703 of FIG. 67 will be described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 68.

When the process starts, in step S711, the reference index determiningunit 432 creates a candidate motion (parallax) vector and a referenceindex from spatially neighboring blocks.

In step S712, the reference index determining unit 432 generates areference index for temporal correlation blocks.

In step S713, the vector predicting unit 434 generates a candidatemotion (parallax) vector from temporal correlation blocks.

In step S714, the vector predicting unit 434 generates a candidate listof motion (parallax) vectors and reference indexes. The number ofelements of this list is referred to as Y.

In step S715, the vector predicting unit 434 sets a largest number X ofthe candidate list.

In step S716, the vector predicting unit 434 determines whether thenumber Y of elements of the list is smaller than the largest number X ofthe candidate list (Y<X). When it is determined that the number Y ofelements of the list is smaller than the largest number X of thecandidate list (Y<X), the flow proceeds to step S717.

In step S717, the vector predicting unit 434 combines the respectiveelements of the candidate list to generate a new motion (parallax)vector and a new reference index.

In step S718, the vector predicting unit 434 updates the candidate list.The number of elements of the list in this case is referred to as Y′.

In step S719, the vector predicting unit 434 determines whether thenumber Y′ of elements of the list is smaller than the largest number Xof the candidate list (Y′<X). When it is determined that the number Y′of elements of the list is smaller than the largest number X of thecandidate list (Y′<X), the flow proceeds to step S720.

In step S720, the vector predicting unit 434 generates a new zero motion(parallax) vector and a new zero reference index. When the process ofstep S720 ends, the flow proceeds to step S721.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S716 that the number Y ofelements of the list is greater than the largest number X of thecandidate list (not Y<X), the flow proceeds to step S721. Moreover, whenit is determined in step S719 that the number Y′ of elements of the listis greater than the largest number X of the candidate list (not Y′<X),the flow proceeds to step S721.

In step S721, the vector predicting unit 434 generates an element indexof the candidate list.

In step S722, the vector predicting unit 434 acquires a motion(parallax) vector and a reference index indicated by the element index.When the process of step S722 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart ofFIG. 67.

Next, an example of the flow of a process of generating candidate motion(parallax) vectors from a temporal correlation block executed in stepS713 of FIG. 68 will be described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 69.

When the process starts, in step S731, the vector predicting unit 434generates an index that designates a temporal correlation picture.

In step S732, the vector predicting unit 434 determines a temporalcorrelation picture.

In step S733, the vector predicting unit 434 selects a bottom-rightblock of an encoding PU (encoding block) present in the temporalcorrelation picture.

In step S734, the vector predicting unit 434 determines whether thebottom-right block is an intra mode or not available. When it isdetermined that the bottom-right block is an intra mode or notavailable, the flow proceeds to step S735.

In step S735, the vector predicting unit 434 selects a central block ofan encoding PU present in the temporal correlation picture.

In step S736, the vector predicting unit 434 determines whether thecentral block is an intra mode or not available. When it is determinedthat the central block is an intra mode or not available, the flowproceeds to step S737.

In step S737, the vector predicting unit 434 excludes the motion(parallax) vector of the temporal correlation block from the candidate.When the process of step S737 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart ofFIG. 68.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S734 that the bottom-right blockis neither an intra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to stepS738. Similarly, when it is determined that the central block is neitheran intra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to step S738.

In step S738, the vector predicting unit 434 determines a motion(parallax) vector and a reference index of the temporal correlationblock.

In step S739, the vector predicting unit 434 determines the presence ofthe scaling process for the motion (parallax) vector of the temporalcorrelation block and the presence of a candidate.

In step S740, the vector predicting unit 434 determines whether themotion (parallax) vector of the temporal correlation block is to beexcluded from the candidate based on the determination result of stepS739.

When it is determined that the motion (parallax) vector is to beexcluded from the candidate, the flow returns to step S737. Moreover,when it is determined in step S740 that the motion (parallax) vector isnot to be excluded from the candidate (to be included in the candidate),the flow proceeds to step S741.

In step S741, the vector predicting unit 434 determines whether scalingis necessary for the motion (parallax) vector of the temporalcorrelation block based on the determination result of step S739.

When it is determined that scaling is necessary, the flow proceeds tostep S742. In step S742, the vector predicting unit 434 performs ascaling process for the motion (parallax) vector of the temporalcorrelation block. When the process of step S742 ends, the flow returnsto the flowchart of FIG. 68.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S741 that scaling is notnecessary, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 68.

Next, an example of the flow of a process of determining the presence ofa scaling process for the motion (parallax) vector of the temporalcorrelation block and the presence of the candidate, executed in stepS739 of FIG. 69 will be described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 70.

When the process starts, in step S751, the vector predicting unit 434determines whether the reference image of the encoding block is a shortreference image or a long reference image.

In step S752, the vector predicting unit 434 determines whether thereference image of the temporal correlation block is a short referenceimage or a long reference image.

In step S753, the vector predicting unit 434 determines whether thereference image of the encoding block is a long reference image based onthe determination result of step S751.

When it is determined that the reference image of the encoding block isa long reference image, the flow proceeds to step S754. In step S754,the vector predicting unit 434 determines whether the reference image ofthe temporal correlation block is a long reference image based on thedetermination result of step S752.

When it is determined that the reference image of the temporalcorrelation block is a long reference image, the flow proceeds to stepS755. In this case, the motion (parallax) vectors of the encoding blockand the temporal correlation block are long reference images. Thus, instep S755, the vector predicting unit 434 includes the motion (parallax)vector of the temporal correlation block into the candidate and sets thescaling to be not necessary. When the process of step S755 ends, theflow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 69.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S754 of FIG. 70 that thereference image of the temporal correlation block is a short referenceimage, the flow proceeds to step S756. In this case, the types of themotion (parallax) vectors of the encoding block and the temporalcorrelation block are not identical. Thus, in step S756, the vectorpredicting unit 434 sets the motion (parallax) vector of the temporalcorrelation block to be excluded from the candidate. When the process ofstep S756 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 69.

Further, when it is determined in step S753 of FIG. 70 that thereference image of the encoding block is a short reference image, theflow proceeds to step S757. In step S757, the vector predicting unit 434determines whether the reference image of the temporal correlation blockis a long reference image based on the determination result of stepS752.

When it is determined that the reference image of the temporalcorrelation block is a long reference image, the flow returns to stepS756. That is, in this case, when the types of the motion (parallax)vectors of the encoding block and the temporal correlation block are notidentical, the motion (parallax) vector of the temporal correlationblock is set to be excluded from the candidate.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S757 that the reference image ofthe temporal correlation block is a short reference image, the flowproceeds to step S758. In this case, the motion (parallax) vectors ofthe encoding block and the temporal correlation block are shortreference images. Thus, in step S758, the vector predicting unit 434includes the motion (parallax) vector of the temporal correlation blockinto the candidate and sets the scaling to be necessary. When theprocess of step S758 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 69.

Next, an example of the flow of the AMVP mode process executed in stepS705 of FIG. 67 will be described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 71.

When the process starts, in step S761, the vector predicting unit 433(FIG. 38) generates a candidate motion (parallax) vector from aspatially neighboring block.

In step S762, the vector predicting unit 433 generates a candidate listof motion (parallax) vectors. The number of elements of this candidatelist is referred to as A.

In step S763, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether thenumber A of elements of the candidate list is smaller than 2 (A<2).

When it is determined that the number A of elements of the candidatelist is smaller than 2 (A<2), the flow proceeds to step S764. In stepS764, the vector predicting unit 433 generates a candidate motion(parallax) vector from the temporal correlation block. This process isas the same as that described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.69, and the description thereof will not be provided.

In step S765, the vector predicting unit 433 generates a candidate listof motion (parallax) vectors and reference indexes. The number ofelements of this candidate list is referred to as A′.

In step S766, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether thenumber A′ of elements of the candidate list is smaller than 2 (A′<2).

When it is determined that the number A′ of elements of the candidatelist is smaller than 2 (A′<2), the flow proceeds to step S767. In stepS767, the vector predicting unit 433 generates a new zero motion(parallax) vector and a new zero reference index. When the process ofstep S767 ends, the flow proceeds to step S768.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S763 that the number A ofelements of the candidate list is greater than (not A<2), the flowproceeds to step S768. Further, when it is determined in step S766 thatthe number A′ of elements of the candidate list is greater than 2 (notA<2), the flow proceeds to step S768.

In step S768, the vector predicting unit 433 generates an element index(flag) of the candidate list.

In step S769, the vector predicting unit 433 acquires a motion(parallax) vector indicated by the element index. When the process ofstep S769 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 67.

Next, an example of the flow of a process of generating a candidatemotion (parallax) vector from a spatially neighboring block executed instep S761 of FIG. 71 will be described with reference to the flowchartof FIG. 72.

When the process starts, the vector predicting unit 433 generates acandidate motion (parallax) vector from the left block in step S771.

In step S772, the vector predicting unit 433 generates a candidatemotion (parallax) vector from the upper block.

When the process of step S722 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart ofFIG. 71.

Next, an example of the flow of a process of generating a candidatemotion (parallax) vector from the left block executed in step S771 ofFIG. 72 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 73and 74.

When the process starts, the vector predicting unit 433 selects theblock at the position A0 in step S781.

In step S782, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position A0 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position A0 is neither anintra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to step S783. In stepS783, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether the block at theposition A0 refers to the same reference image as the encoding block.

When it is determined that the block at the position A0 refers to thesame reference image as the encoding block, the flow proceeds to stepS784. In step S784, the vector predicting unit 433 uses the motion(parallax) vector of the block at the position A0 as the candidate. Whenthe process of step S784 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG.72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S782 of FIG. 73 that the blockat the position A0 is an intra mode or not available, the flow proceedsto step S785. Moreover, when it is determined in step S783 that theblock at the position A0 refers to a reference image different from thatof the encoding block, the flow proceeds to step S785.

In step S785, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a block at theposition A1.

In step S786, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position A1 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position A1 is an intra modeor not available, the flow proceeds to step S787. In step S787, thevector predicting unit 433 determines whether the block at the positionA1 refers to the same reference image as the encoding block.

When it is determined that the block at the position A1 refers to thesame reference image as the encoding block, the flow proceeds to stepS788. In step S788, the vector predicting unit 433 uses the motion(parallax) vector of the block at the position A1 as the candidate. Whenthe process of step S788 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG.72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S786 of FIG. 73 that the blockat the position A1 is an intra mode or not available, the flow proceedsto step S791 of FIG. 74. Moreover, when it is determined in step S787 ofFIG. 73 that the block at the position A1 refers to a reference imagedifferent from that of the encoding block, the flow proceeds to stepS791 of FIG. 74.

In step S791 of FIG. 74, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a blockat the position A0.

In step S792, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position A0 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position A0 is neither anintra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to step S793. In stepS793, the vector predicting unit 433 uses the motion (parallax) vectorof the block at the position A0 as the candidate. When the process ofstep S793 ends, the flow proceeds to step S797.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S792 of FIG. 74 that the blockat the position A0 is an intra mode or not available, the flow proceedsto step S794.

In step S794, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a block at theposition A1.

In step S795, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position A1 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position A0 is an intra modeor not available, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S795 of FIG. 74 that the blockat the position A1 is neither an intra mode or not available, the flowreturns to step S796. In step S796, the vector predicting unit 433 usesthe motion (parallax) vector of the block at the position A1 as thecandidate. When the process of step S796 ends, the flow proceeds to stepS797.

In step S797, the vector predicting unit 433 determines the presence ofa scaling process for the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboringblock and the presence of the candidate.

In step S798, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether themotion (parallax) vector of the neighboring block is to be excluded fromthe candidate based on the determination result of step S797.

When it is determined that the motion (parallax) vector is to beexcluded from the candidate, the flow proceeds to step S799. In stepS799, the vector predicting unit 433 excludes the motion (parallax)vector of the left block from the candidate. When the process of stepS799 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S798 of FIG. 74 that the motion(parallax) vector is not to be excluded from the candidate (to beincluded in the candidate), the flow proceeds to step S800.

In step S800, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether scalingis necessary for the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboring blockbased on the determination result of step S797.

When it is determined that scaling is necessary, the flow proceeds tostep S801. In step S801, the vector predicting unit 433 performs ascaling process for the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboringblock. When the process of step S801 ends, the flow returns to theflowchart of FIG. 72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S800 of FIG. 74 that scaling isnot necessary, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72.

Next, an example of the flow of a process of determining the presence ofa scaling process for the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboringblock and the presence of the candidate, executed in step S797 of FIG.74 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 75.

When the process starts, in step S811, the vector predicting unit 433determines whether the reference image of the encoding block is a shortreference image or a long reference image.

In step S812, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether thereference image of the neighboring block is a short reference image or along reference image.

In step S813, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether thereference image of the encoding block is a long reference image based onthe determination result of step S811.

When it is determined that the reference image of the encoding block isa long reference image, the flow proceeds to step S814. In step S814,the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether the reference image ofthe neighboring block is a long reference image based on thedetermination result of step S812.

When it is determined that the reference image of the neighboring blockis a long reference image, the flow proceeds to step S815. In this case,the motion (parallax) vectors of the encoding block and the neighboringblock are long reference images. Thus, in step S815, the vectorpredicting unit 433 includes the motion (parallax) vector of theneighboring block into the candidate and sets the scaling to be notnecessary. When the process of step S815 ends, the flow returns to theflowchart of FIG. 74.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S814 of FIG. 75 that thereference image of the neighboring block is a short reference image, theflow proceeds to step S816. In this case, the types of the motion(parallax) vectors of the encoding block and the neighboring block arenot identical. Thus, in step S816, the vector predicting unit 433 setsthe motion (parallax) vector of the neighboring block to be excludedfrom the candidate. When the process of step S816 ends, the flow returnsto the flowchart of FIG. 74.

Further, when it is determined in step S813 of FIG. 75 that thereference image of the encoding block is a short reference image, theflow proceeds to step S817. In step S817, the vector predicting unit 433determines whether the reference image of the neighboring block is along reference image based on the determination result of step S812.

When it is determined that the reference image of the neighboring blockis a long reference image, the flow returns to step S816. That is, inthis case, since the types of the motion (parallax) vectors of theencoding block and the neighboring block are not identical, the motion(parallax) vector of the neighboring block is set to be excluded fromthe candidate.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S817 that the reference image ofthe neighboring block is a short reference image, the flow proceeds tostep S818. In this case, the motion (parallax) vectors of the encodingblock and the neighboring block are short reference images. Therefore,in step S818, the vector predicting unit 433 includes the motion(parallax) vector of the neighboring block into the candidate and setsthe scaling to be necessary. When the process of step S818 ends, theflow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 74.

Next, an example of the flow of a process of generating a candidatemotion (parallax) vector from the upper block, executed in step S772 ofFIG. 72 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 76and 77.

When the process starts, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a blockat the position B0 in step S821.

In step S822, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position B0 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position BO is neither anintra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to step S823. In stepS823, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether the block at theposition B0 refers to the same reference image as the encoding block.

When it is determined that the block at the position BO refers to thesame reference image as the encoding block, the flow proceeds to stepS824. In step S824, the vector predicting unit 433 uses the motion(parallax) vector of the block at the position B0 as the candidate. Whenthe process of step S824 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG.72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S822 of FIG. 76 that the blockat the position B0 is an intra mode or not available, the flow proceedsto step S825. Moreover, when it is determined in step S823 that theblock at the position B0 refers to a reference image different from thatof the encoding block, the flow proceeds to step S825.

In step S825, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a block at theposition B1.

In step S826, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position B1 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position B1 is neither anintra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to step S827. In stepS827, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether the block at theposition B1 refers to the same reference image as the encoding block.

When it is determined that the block at the position B1 refers to thesame reference image as the encoding block, the flow proceeds to stepS828. In step S828, the vector predicting unit 433 uses the motion(parallax) vector of the block at the position B1 as the candidate. Whenthe process of step S828 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG.72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S826 of FIG. 76 that the blockat the position B1 is an intra mode or not available, the flow proceedsto step S829. Moreover, when it is determined in step S827 that theblock at the position B1 refers to a reference image different from thatof the encoding block, the flow proceeds to step S829.

In step S829, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a block at theposition B2.

In step S830, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position B2 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position B2 is neither anintra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to step S831. In stepS831, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether the block at theposition B2 refers to the same reference image as the encoding block.

When it is determined that the block at the position B2 refers to thesame reference image as the encoding block, the flow proceeds to stepS832. In step S832, the vector predicting unit 433 uses the motion(parallax) vector of the block at the position B2 as the candidate. Whenthe process of step S832 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG.72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S830 of FIG. 76 that the blockat the position B2 is an intra mode or not available, the flow proceedsto step S841 of FIG. 77. Moreover, when it is determined in step S831 ofFIG. 76 that the block at the position B2 refers to a reference imagedifferent from that of the encoding block, the flow proceeds to stepS841 of FIG. 77.

In step S841 of FIG. 77, the vector predicting unit 433 determineswhether a candidate motion (parallax) vector is generated from the leftblock.

In step S842, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a block at theposition B0.

In step S843, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position B0 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position BO is neither anintra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to step S844. In stepS844, the vector predicting unit 433 uses the motion (parallax) vectorof the block at the position B0 as the candidate. When the process ofstep S844 ends, the flow proceeds to step S851.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S843 that the block at theposition B0 is an intra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to stepS845.

In step S845, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a block at theposition B1.

In step S846, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position B1 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position B1 is neither anintra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to step S847. In stepS847, the vector predicting unit 433 uses the motion (parallax) vectorof the block at the position B1 as the candidate. When the process ofstep S847 ends, the flow proceeds to step S851.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S846 that the block at theposition B1 is an intra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to stepS848.

In step S848, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a block at theposition B2.

In step S849, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position B2 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined in step S849 that the block at the position B2 isan intra mode or not available, the flow returns to the flowchart ofFIG. 72.

Moreover, when it is determined that the block at the position B2 isneither an intra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to step S850.In step S850, the vector predicting unit 433 uses the motion (parallax)vector of the block at the position B2 as the candidate. When theprocess of step S850 ends, the flow proceeds to step S851.

In step S851, the vector predicting unit 433 determines the presence ofa scaling process for the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboringblock and the presence of the candidate. Since this process is performedin the same manner as that described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 75, the description thereof will not be provided. In this case,when the process of the flowchart of FIG. 75 ends, the flow returns tothe flowchart of FIG. 77 rather than the flowchart of FIG. 74.

In step S852, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether themotion (parallax) vector of the neighboring block is to be excluded fromthe candidate based on the determination result of step S851.

When it is determined that the motion (parallax) vector is to beexcluded from the candidate, the flow proceeds to step S853. In stepS853, the vector predicting unit 433 excludes the motion (parallax)vector of the upper block from the candidate. When the process of stepS853 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S852 of FIG. 77 that the motion(parallax) vector is not to be excluded from the candidate (to beincluded in the candidate), the flow proceeds to step S854.

In step S854, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether scalingis necessary for the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboring blockbased on the determination result of step S851.

When it is determined that scaling is necessary, the flow proceeds tostep S855. In step S855, the vector predicting unit 433 performs ascaling process for the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboringblock. When the process of step S855 ends, the flow returns to theflowchart of FIG. 72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S854 of FIG. 77 that scaling isnot necessary, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72.

By executing the respective processes in the above-described manner, theimage encoding device 400 can suppress a decrease in the encodingefficiency.

[Flow of Process During Decoding]

In order to correctly decode the encoded data obtained by encoding inthe above-described manner, prediction may be performed on the decodingside as the same method as the encoding side. That is, on the decodingside, when the types (short reference picture or long reference picture)of the reference pictures of the encoding vector and the predictivevector are different, the predictive vector is set to be not available.

That is, for example, when the type of a reference image of the encodingblock is identical to the type of a reference image of a temporalcorrelation block (that is, when both reference images are shortreference images or long reference images), a motion (parallax) vectorof the temporal correlation block is used as a candidate. When the typesof both reference images are not identical, the vectors are excludedfrom the candidate. Further, when both the reference image of theencoding block and the reference image of the temporal correlation blockare short reference images, scaling of the motion (parallax) vector ofthe temporal correlation block is performed. When both reference imagesare long reference images, scaling of the motion (parallax) vector ofthe temporal correlation block is not performed.

Moreover, for example, when the type of the reference image of theencoding block is identical to the type of the reference image of theneighboring block (that is, when both reference images are shortreference images or long reference images), the motion (parallax) vectorof the neighboring block is used as a candidate. When the types of bothreference images are not identical, the vectors are excluded from thecandidate. Further, when both the reference image of the encoding blockand the reference image of the neighboring block are short referenceimages, scaling of the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboring blockis performed. When both reference images are long reference images,scaling of the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboring block is notperformed.

By doing so, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the encodingefficiency.

An example of the flow of the process during encoding for realizing suchcontrol will be described below. Such control can be realized by theimage decoding device 500 (FIG. 47) described in the fourth embodiment.

The decoding process of the image decoding device 500 is performed inthe same manner as that (the second embodiment) described with referenceto the flowchart of FIG. 33. Moreover, the prediction process of stepS305 of FIG. 33 is performed in the same manner as that described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 34.

An example of the flow of a PU motion (parallax) vector and referenceindex generation process executed by the motion compensation unit 512 asthe process corresponding to the motion parallax compensation processexecuted in step S334 of FIG. 34 will be described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 78.

This process is performed basically in the same manner as that of theprocess (FIG. 67) on the encoding side. However, since the predictionmode is determined on the encoding side, a device on the decoding sidemay perform the process of the used prediction mode only.

When the process starts, in step S861, the lossless decoding unit 302decodes a prediction mode supplied from the encoding side.

In step S862, the mode determining unit 531 determines whether theprediction mode is a merge (skip) mode.

When it is determined that the prediction mode is a merge (skip) mode,the flow proceeds to step S863. In step S863, the reference indexdetermining unit 532 and the vector decoding unit 534 performs theprocess of the merge (skip) mode to generate a motion (parallax) vectorand a reference index. When the process of step S863 ends, the flowreturns to the flowchart of FIG. 34.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S862 of FIG. 78 that theprediction mode is not a merge (skip) mode, the flow proceeds to stepS863. In step S864, the vector decoding unit 533 acquires a residualmotion (parallax) vector and a reference index. In step S865, the vectordecoding unit 533 performs the process of the AMVP mode to generate apredictive motion (parallax) vector. In step S866, the vector decodingunit 533 adds the residual motion (parallax) vector and the predictivemotion (parallax) vector. When the process of step S866 ends, the flowreturns to the flowchart of FIG. 34.

Next, an example of the flow of the merge (skip) mode process executedin step S863 of FIG. 78 will be described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 79. This process is performed basically in the samemanner as the process (FIG. 68) on the encoding side.

The respective processes of steps S871 to S874 are executed in the samemanner as the respective processes of steps S711 to S714 of FIG. 68.However, the processes of steps S871 and S872 are performed by thereference index determining unit 532, and the processes of steps S873and S874 are performed by the vector decoding unit 534.

In step S875, the vector decoding unit 534 decodes the largest value Xof the candidate list.

The processes of steps S876 to S880 are executed in the same manner asthe processes of steps S716 to S720 of FIG. 68. However, these processesare executed by the vector decoding unit 534.

In step S881, the vector decoding unit 534 decodes the element index ofthe candidate list. In step S882, the vector decoding unit 534 acquiresthe motion (parallax) vector and the reference index indicated by theelement index. When the process of step S882 ends, the flow returns tothe flowchart of FIG. 78.

Next, an example of the flow of a process of generating a candidatemotion (parallax) vector from the temporal correlation block executed instep S873 of FIG. 79 will be described with reference to the flowchartof FIG. 80. This process is performed basically in the same manner asthe process (FIG. 69) on the encoding side.

When the process starts, the vector decoding unit 534 decodes the indexindicating the temporal correlation picture in step S891.

The processes of steps S892 to S902 are performed in the same manner asthe processes of steps S732 to S742 of FIG. 69. However, these processesare executed by the vector decoding unit 534.

The process of determining the presence of a scaling process for themotion (parallax) vector of the temporal correlation block and thepresence of the candidate executed in step S899 of FIG. 80 is executedin the same manner as that described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 70, and the description thereof will not be provided. However, inthis case, the process is executed by the vector decoding unit 534, andwhen the process of the flowchart of FIG. 70 ends, the flow returns tothe flowchart of FIG. 80.

Next, an example of the flow of the AMVP mode process executed in stepS865 of FIG. 78 will be described with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 81. This process is performed basically in the same manner as theprocess (FIG. 71) on the decoding side. The processes of steps S911 toS917 are executed in the same manner as the processes of steps S761 toS767 of FIG. 71. However, these processes are executed by the vectordecoding unit 533.

In step S918, the vector decoding unit 533 decodes the element index(flag) of the candidate list. In step S919, the vector decoding unit 533acquires the motion (parallax) vector indicated by the element index.When the process of step S919 ends, the flow returns to the flowchart ofFIG. 78.

The process of generating a candidate motion (parallax) vector from aspatially neighboring block executed in step S911 of FIG. 81 is executedin the same manner as that described with reference to the flowcharts ofFIGS. 72 to 77, and the description thereof will not be provided.However, in this case, the process is executed by the vector decodingunit 533, and when the process of the flowchart of FIG. 72 ends, theflow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 81.

Moreover, the process of generating a candidate motion (parallax) vectorfrom the temporal correlation block executed in step S914 of FIG. 81 isexecuted in the same manner as that described with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 80, and the description thereof will not be provided.However, in this case, the process is executed by the vector decodingunit 533, and when the process of the flowchart of FIG. 80 ends, theflow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 81.

By executing the processes in the above-described manner, the imagedecoding device 500 can correctly decode the encoded data and suppress adecrease in the encoding efficiency.

[Summary of Handling of Motion (Parallax) Vector]

In the above example, when the motion (parallax) vector is generatedfrom the neighboring block in the AMVP mode, the motion (parallax)vector is retrieved in the order of the positions A0 and A1 for the leftneighboring block, for example, and the process ends when the motion(parallax) vector is found. Similarly, the motion (parallax) vector isretrieved in the order of the positions B0, B1, and B2 for the upperneighboring block, for example, and the process ends when the motion(parallax) vector is found. In this case, since whether the motion(parallax) vector can be used as the candidate is determined after that,for example, even when the motion (parallax) vector found at a certainposition cannot be used as the candidate, retrieving of the motion(parallax) vector at the subsequent positions is not performed.

A method of generating the motion (parallax) vector from the neighboringblock is not limited to this. For example, whether the motion (parallax)vector at all positions A0 and A1 or positions B0, B1, and B2 cannot beused as the candidate may be determined. That is, the presence of thecandidate is determined for the neighboring blocks at respectivepositions and the presence of the scaling process is determinedcollectively at the end.

By doing so, it is possible to determine whether the motion (parallax)vectors at the respective positions are to be included in the candidatealthough the process becomes more complex than the above-describedexample. That is, it is possible to retrieve more appropriate candidatesand to further improve the encoding efficiency.

FIG. 82 is a diagram for describing an example of handling of aneighboring block. In vector prediction, first, whether a motion(parallax) vector of a neighboring block at each position is to beincluded in a candidate vector is determined as in the table illustratedin A of FIG. 82.

That is, for example, when the types of the reference image of theencoding block and the reference image of the neighboring block areidentical (that is, when both reference images are short referenceimages or long reference images), the motion (parallax) vector of thetemporal correlation block is used as a candidate. When the types ofboth reference images are not identical, the vectors are excluded fromthe candidate.

After the candidate is selected, whether scaling is to be performed onthe candidate vector is determined as in the table illustrated in B ofFIG. 82.

That is, for example, when both the reference image of the encodingblock and the reference image of the neighboring block are shortreference images, scaling of the motion (parallax) vector of theneighboring block is performed. In other cases, scaling of the motion(parallax) vector of the neighboring block is not performed.

[Flow of Process During Encoding]

An example of the flow of a process of generating a candidate motion(parallax) vector from the left block of this case will be describedwith reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 83 and 84. Since the processesdescribed with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 67 to 72 areexecuted in the same manner as the processes of this case, thedescription of these processes will not be provided.

The processes of steps S921 to S928 of FIG. 83 are executed in the samemanner as the processes of steps S781 to S788 of FIG. 73. When theprocess of step S924 or S928 ends, the process of generating thecandidate motion (parallax) vector from the left block ends, and theflow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72. Moreover, when it isdetermined in step S926 that the block at the position A1 is an intramode or not available, or when it is determined in step S927 that theblock at the position A1 refers to a reference image different from thatof the encoding block, the flow proceeds to step S931 of FIG. 84.

In step S931 of FIG. 84, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a blockat the position A0.

In step S932, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position A0 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position A0 is neither anintra mode nor unavailable, the flow proceeds to step S933. In stepS933, the vector predicting unit 433 determines the presence of thecandidate motion (parallax) vector of the block at the position A0.

In step S934, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether thecandidate is to be included based on the determination result of stepS933.

When it is determined that the candidate is to be included, the flowproceeds to step S935. In step S935, the vector predicting unit 433 usesthe motion (parallax) vector at the position A0 as the candidate. Whenthe process of step S935 ends, the flow proceeds to step S943.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S934 that the candidate is notto be included, the flow proceeds to step S936. In step S936, the vectorpredicting unit 433 excludes the motion (parallax) vector of the blockat the position A0 from the candidate.

When the process of step S936 ends, the flow proceeds to step S937.Moreover, when it is determined in step S932 that the block at theposition A0 is neither intra mode nor unavailable, the flow proceeds tostep S937.

In step S937, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a block at theposition A1.

In step S938, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position A1 is intra mode or not available. When it isdetermined that the block at the position A1 is an intra mode or notavailable, the process of generating the candidate motion (parallax)vector from the left block ends, the flow returns to the flowchart ofFIG. 72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S938 of FIG. 84 that the blockat the position A1 is neither intra mode nor unavailable, the flowproceeds to step S939. In step S939, the vector predicting unit 433determines the presence of the candidate motion (parallax) vector of theblock at the position A1.

In step S940, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether thecandidate is to be included based on the determination result of stepS939.

When it is determined that the candidate is to be included, the flowproceeds to step S941. In step S941, the vector predicting unit 433 usesthe motion (parallax) vector at the position A1 as the candidate. Whenthe process of step S941 ends, the flow proceeds to step S943.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S940 that the candidate is notto be included, the flow proceeds to step S942. In step S942, the vectorpredicting unit 433 excludes the motion (parallax) vector of the blockat the position A1 from the candidate. When the process of step S942ends, the process of generating the candidate motion (parallax) vectorfrom the left block ends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72.

In step S943 of FIG. 84, the vector predicting unit 433 determines thepresence of the scaling process for the motion (parallax) vector of theneighboring block.

In step S944, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether scalingis necessary for the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboring blockbased on the determination result of step S943.

When it is determined that scaling is necessary, the flow proceeds tostep S945. In step S945, the vector predicting unit 433 performs ascaling process on the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboringblock. When the process of step S945 ends, the flow returns to theflowchart of FIG. 72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S944 of FIG. 84 that scaling isnot necessary, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72.

Next, an example of the flow of a process of determining the presence ofa candidate motion (parallax) vector of the neighboring block executedin steps S933 and S939 of FIG. 84 will be described with reference tothe flowchart of FIG. 85.

The processes of steps S951 to S954 and S957 of FIG. 85 are executed inthe same manner as the processes of steps S811 to S814 and S817 of FIG.75.

When it is determined in step S953 that the reference image of theencoding block is a long reference image and it is determined in stepS954 that the reference image of the neighboring block is a longreference image, the vector predicting unit 433 sets the motion(parallax) vector of the neighboring block (the block at the position A0or A1) is to be included in the candidate in step S955.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S953 that the reference image ofthe encoding block is a long reference image and it is determined instep S954 that the reference image of the neighboring block is a shortreference image, or when it is determined in step S953 that thereference image of the encoding block is a short reference image and itis determined in step S957 that the reference image of the neighboringblock is a long reference image, since the types of the reference imagesof the encoding block and the neighboring block are different, thevector predicting unit 433 sets the motion (parallax) vector of theneighboring block (the block at the position A0 or A1) to be excludedfrom the candidate in step S956.

Further, when it is determined in step S953 that the reference image ofthe encoding block is a short reference image and it is determined instep S957 that the reference image of the neighboring block is a shortreference image, the vector predicting unit 433 sets the motion(parallax) vector of the neighboring block (the block at the position A0or A1) to be included in the candidate in step S958.

When the process of step S955, S956, or S958 ends, the flow returns tothe flowchart of FIG. 84.

Next, an example of the flow of a process of determining the presence ofa scaling process for the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboringblock executed in step S943 of FIG. 84 will be described with referenceto the flowchart of FIG. 86.

The processes of steps S961 to S963 and S965 of FIG. 86 are performed inthe same manner as the processes of steps S811 to S813 and S817 of FIG.75.

When it is determined in step S963 that the reference image of theencoding block is a long reference image, or when it is determined instep S963 that the reference image of the encoding block is a shortreference image and it is determined in step S965 that the referenceimage of the neighboring block is a long reference image, the flowproceeds to step S964. That is, when it is determined that at least oneof the reference image of the encoding block and the reference image ofthe neighboring block is a long reference image, the flow proceeds tostep S964.

In step S964, the vector predicting unit 433 sets the scaling to be notnecessary. When the process of step S964 ends, the flow returns to theflowchart of FIG. 84.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S963 of FIG. 86 that thereference image of the encoding block is a short reference image and itis determined in step S965 that the reference image of the neighboringblock is a short reference image (that is, when it is determined thatboth reference images of the encoding block and the neighboring blockare short reference images), the flow proceeds to step S966.

In step S966, the vector predicting unit 433 sets the scaling to benecessary. When the process of step S966 ends, the flow returns to theflowchart of FIG. 84.

Next, an example of the flow of a process of generating a candidatemotion (parallax) vector from the upper block will be described withreference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 87 to 89.

The processes of steps S971 to S982 of FIG. 87 are executed in the samemanner as the processes of steps S821 to S832 of FIG. 76. When theprocess of step S974, S978, or S982 ends, the flow proceeds to stepS1017 of FIG. 89. Moreover, when it is determined in step S980 that theblock at the position B2 is an intra mode or not available, or when itis determined in step S981 that the block at the position B2 refers to areference image different from that of the encoding block, the flowproceeds to step S991 of FIG. 88.

In step S991 of FIG. 88, the vector predicting unit 433 determineswhether a candidate motion (parallax) vector is generated from the leftblock.

In step S992, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a block at theposition B0.

In step S993, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position B0 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position BO is neither anintra mode nor unavailable, the flow proceeds to step S994. In stepS994, the vector predicting unit 433 determines the presence of thecandidate motion (parallax) vector of the block at the position B0.Since this process is performed in the same manner as that describedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 85, the description thereof willnot be provided.

In step S995, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether thecandidate is to be excluded based on the determination result of stepS994.

When the motion (parallax) vector is to be excluded from the candidate,the flow proceeds to step S996. In step S996, the vector predicting unit433 excludes the motion (parallax) vector of the block at the positionB0 from the candidate. When the process of step S996 ends, the flowproceeds to step S998.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S995 that the motion (parallax)vector is not to be excluded from the candidate, the flow proceeds tostep S997. In step S997, the vector predicting unit 433 uses the motion(parallax) vector of the block at the position B0 as the candidate. Whenthe process of step S997 ends, the flow proceeds to step S1017 of FIG.89.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S993 that the block at theposition B0 is an intra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to stepS998.

In step S998, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a block at theposition B1.

In step S999, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position B1 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position B1 is neither anintra mode nor unavailable, the flow proceeds to step S1000. In stepS1000, the vector predicting unit 433 determines the presence of thecandidate motion (parallax) vector of the block at the position B1.Since this process is performed in the same manner as that describedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 85, the description thereof willnot be provided.

In step S1001, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether thecandidate is to be excluded based on the determination result of stepS1000.

When the motion (parallax) vector is to be excluded from the candidate,the flow proceeds to step S1002. In step S1002, the vector predictingunit 433 excludes the motion (parallax) vector of the block at theposition B1 from the candidate. When the process of step S1002 ends, theflow proceeds to step S1011 of FIG. 89.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S1001 of FIG. 88 that the motion(parallax) vector is not to be excluded from the candidate, the flowproceeds to step S1003. In step S1003, the vector predicting unit 433uses the motion (parallax) vector of the block at the position B1 as thecandidate. When the process of step S1003 ends, the flow proceeds tostep S1017 of FIG. 89.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S999 that the block at theposition B1 is an intra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to stepS1011 of FIG. 89.

In step S1011 of FIG. 89, the vector predicting unit 433 selects a blockat the position B2.

In step S1012, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether theblock at the position B2 is an intra mode or not available.

When it is determined that the block at the position B2 is neither anintra mode nor unavailable, the flow proceeds to step S1013. In stepS1013, the vector predicting unit 433 determines the presence of thecandidate motion (parallax) vector of the block at the position B2.Since this process is performed in the same manner as that describedwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 85, the description thereof willnot be provided.

In step S1014, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether thecandidate is to be excluded based on the determination result of stepS1013.

When the motion (parallax) vector is to be excluded from the candidate,the flow proceeds to step S1015. In step S1015, the vector predictingunit 433 excludes the motion (parallax) vector of the block at theposition B2 from the candidate. When the process of step S1015 ends, theflow proceeds to step S1017.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S1014 that the motion (parallax)vector is not to be excluded from the candidate, the flow proceeds tostep S1016. In step S1016, the vector predicting unit 433 uses themotion (parallax) vector of the block at the position B2 as thecandidate. When the process of step S1016 ends, the flow proceeds tostep S1017.

In step S1017, the vector predicting unit 433 determines the presence ofthe scaling process for the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboringblock. Since this process is performed in the same manner as thatdescribed with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 86, the descriptionthereof will not be provided.

In step S1018, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether scalingis necessary for the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboring blockbased on the determination result of step S1017.

When it is determined that scaling is necessary, the flow proceeds tostep S1019. In step S1019, the vector predicting unit 433 performs ascaling process on the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboringblock. When the process of step S1019 ends, the flow returns to theflowchart of FIG. 72.

Moreover, when it is determined in step S1018 of FIG. 89 that scaling isnot necessary, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72.

By executing the respective processes in the above-described manner, theimage encoding device 400 can suppress a decrease in the encodingefficiency.

Since the image decoding device 500 performs these processes in the samemanner as the image encoding device 400 described above, the descriptionthereof will not be provided. Due to this, the image decoding device 500can correctly decode the encoded data and suppress a decrease in theencoding efficiency.

[Summary of Handling of Motion (Parallax) Vector]

In the above, a first example has been described with reference to FIGS.66 to 81, and a second example has been described with reference toFIGS. 82 to 89.

Besides these examples, for example, in the first example, when both thereference image of the encoding block and the reference image of theneighboring block are long reference images, the motion (parallax)vector of the neighboring block may be used as the candidate only whenthe encoding block and the neighboring block refer to the same referenceimages. When the encoding block and the neighboring block refer todifferent reference images, the motion (parallax) vector of theneighboring block may be excluded from the candidate, and the retrievingprocess may not be provided.

As described above, the long reference image is applied to a fixedregion such as a background image and an image of a different view.Thus, even when both the reference image of the encoding block and thereference image of the neighboring block are such long reference images,if the reference images are different images, it is expected that thereference images have low correlation. That is, it is expected that thecorrelation between the motion (parallax) vectors of the encoding blockand the neighboring block are low.

Thus, by excluding a pattern (a case where both reference images of theencoding block and the neighboring block are long reference images andboth images are different images) in which it is expected that suchcorrelation is low from candidate vectors, it is possible to furthersuppress a decrease in the encoding efficiency. Moreover, by notproviding the process of determining the presence of the candidate andthe presence of scaling, it is possible to decrease processing load.

FIG. 90 is a diagram for describing another example of handling of atemporal correlation block and a neighboring block. In vectorprediction, whether the motion (parallax) vector of the temporalcorrelation block is to be included into the candidate vector andwhether scaling is to be performed are determined as in the tableillustrated in A of FIG. 90.

That is, this is the same as the case of A of FIG. 66.

Moreover, in vector prediction, whether the motion (parallax) vector ofthe neighboring block is to be included in the candidate vector andwhether scaling is to be performed are determined as in the tableillustrated in B of FIG. 90.

That is, for example, when both reference images of the encoding blockand the neighboring block are long reference images, and the motion(parallax) vector of the neighboring block is used as the candidate onlywhen the reference images are the same. Further, when these referenceimages are different, the motion (parallax) vector of the neighboringblock is excluded from the candidate, and the process of determining thepresence of the candidate and the presence of scaling is not provided.

When both the reference image of the encoding block and the referenceimage of the neighboring block are short reference images, scaling ofthe motion (parallax) vector of the neighboring block is performed. Whenboth reference images are long reference images, scaling of the motion(parallax) vector of the neighboring block is not performed.

[Flow of Process During Encoding]

An example of the flow of a process of generating a candidate motion(parallax) vector from the left block of this case will be describedwith reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 91 and 92. Since the processesdescribed with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 67 to 72 areexecuted in the same manner as the processes of this case, thedescription of these processes will not be provided.

The processes of steps S1031 to S1038 of FIG. 91 are executed basicallyin the same manner as the processes of steps S781 to S788 of FIG. 73.When the process of step S1034 or S1038 ends, the process of generatingthe candidate motion (parallax) vector from the left block ends, and theflow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72. Moreover, when it isdetermined in step S1035 that the block at the position A1 is an intramode or not available, the flow proceeds to step S1041 of FIG. 92.

However, when it is determined in step S1037 of FIG. 91 that the blockat the position A1 refers to a reference image different from that ofthe encoding block, the flow proceeds to step S1039.

In step S1039, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether boththe reference images of the encoding block and the neighboring block arelong reference images.

When it is determined that both reference images of the encoding blockand the neighboring block are long reference images, the process ofgenerating a candidate motion (parallax) vector from the left blockends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72.

Moreover, when it is determined that at least one of the referenceimages of the encoding block and the neighboring block is a shortreference image, the flow proceeds to step S1041 of FIG. 92.

The processes of steps S1041 to S1051 of FIG. 92 are executed in thesame manner as the processes of steps S791 to S799 of FIG. 74.

That is, when it is determined that both reference images of theencoding block and the neighboring block are long reference images, allprocesses of the flowchart of FIG. 92 are not provided. Thus, it ispossible to decrease processing load.

Next, an example of the flow of a process of generating a candidatemotion (parallax) vector from the upper block of this case will bedescribed with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 93 and 94.

The processes of steps S1071 to S1082 of FIG. 93 are executed basicallyin the same manner as the processes of steps S821 to S832 of FIG. 76.When the process of step S1074, S1078, or S1082 ends, the process ofgenerating a candidate motion (parallax) vector from the upper blockends, and the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72. Moreover, whenit is determined in step S1080 that the block at the position B2 is anintra mode or not available, the flow proceeds to step S1091 of FIG. 94.

However, when it is determined in step S1081 of FIG. 93 that the blockat the position B2 refers to a reference image different from that ofthe encoding block, the flow proceeds to step S1083.

In step S1083, the vector predicting unit 433 determines whether bothreference images of the encoding block and the neighboring block arelong reference images.

When it is determined that both reference images of the encoding blockand the neighboring block are long reference images, the process ofgenerating a candidate motion (parallax) vector from the upper blockends, the flow returns to the flowchart of FIG. 72.

Moreover, when it is determined that at least one of the referenceimages of the encoding block and the neighboring block is a shortreference image, the flow proceeds to step S1091 of FIG. 94.

The processes of steps S1091 to S1105 of FIG. 94 are executed in thesame manner as the processes of steps S841 to S855 of FIG. 77.

That is, when it is determined that both reference images of theencoding block and the neighboring block are long reference images, allprocesses of the flowchart of FIG. 94 are not provided. Thus, it ispossible to decrease processing load.

The series of processes can be applied to multi-view image encoding anddecoding (multi-view encoder and decoder). That is, the encodingefficiency can be improved when multi-view encoding and decoding areperformed. The series of processes can be applied to layer imageencoding (space scalability) and layer image decoding (multilayerencoder and decoder). That is, the encoding efficiency can be improvedwhen layer image encoding and decoding are performed.

Moreover, the series of processes can be applied to a so-called 2D imageof a mono-view image (1-view).

The present technique can be applied to an image information encodingdevice and an image decoding method that are used when image information(a bit stream) which has been compressed by orthogonal transform such asdiscrete cosine transform and motion compensation as in the case ofMPEG, H. 26x, and the like is received via a network medium such assatellite broadcasting, a cable TV, the Internet, or a cellular phone.Moreover, the present technique can be applied to an image encodingdevice and an image decoding device that are used when the imageinformation (a bit stream) is processed on a storage medium such as anoptical or magnetic disk, or a flash memory. Further, the presenttechnique can be applied to a motion prediction compensating deviceincluded in the image encoding device, the image decoding device, andthe like.

7. Seventh Embodiment

[Computer]

The above-described series of processes can be executed not only byhardware but also by software. When the series of processes are executedby software, a program included in the software is installed in acomputer. Here, the computer may be a computer integrated into anexclusive hardware or a general-purpose personal computer which canexecute various functions by installing various programs in thecomputer.

In FIG. 95, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 701 of a personal computer700 executes various processes according to a program stored in a ROM(Read Only Memory) 702 or a program loaded from a storage unit 713 intoa RAM (Random Access Memory) 703. Data necessary for the CPU 701 toexecute the various processes is also appropriately stored in the RAM703.

The CPU 701, the ROM 702, and the RAM 703 are connected to one anothervia a bus 704. An input/output interface 710 is also connected to thebus 704.

An input unit 711 formed of a keyboard, a mouse and the like, an outputunit 712 formed of a display formed of a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and anLCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a speaker, and the like, the storage unit713 formed of a hard disk and the like, and a communication unit 714formed of a modem and the like are connected to the input/outputinterface 710. The communication unit 714 performs a communicationprocess via a network including the Internet.

A drive 715 is connected to the input/output interface 710 as needed, aremovable medium 721 such as a magnetic disc, an optical disc, amagneto-optical disc, and a semiconductor memory is appropriatelymounted thereon, and a computer program read from the medium isinstalled on the storage unit 713 as necessary.

When the series of processes is executed by software, a program includedin the software is installed via a network or a recording medium.

The recording medium is composed not only of the removable medium 721including the magnetic disc (including a flexible disc), the opticaldisc (including a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) and a DVD(Digital Versatile Disc)), the magneto-optical disc (including an MD(Mini Disc)), and the semiconductor memory, in which the program isrecorded, distributed to a user for distributing the program separatelyfrom an apparatus main body but also of the ROM 702 in which the programis recorded and the hard disc included in the storage unit 713distributed to the user in a state being embedded in advance in theapparatus main body as illustrated in FIG. 95, for example.

The program executed by the computer may be a program executingprocessing in a time-sequential manner in accordance with the proceduresdescribed in this specification and may be a program executing theprocessing in a parallel manner or at necessary times such as inresponse to calls.

Here, in this specification, the steps that describe the programrecorded in the recording medium includes not only processing which isexecuted in time-sequential manner in accordance with describedprocedures but also processing which is executed in parallel and/orseparately even if it is not always executed in time-sequential manner.

In this specification, the term “system” is used to imply an apparatusas a whole, which includes a plurality of devices (apparatuses).

In the above description, the configuration described as one apparatus(or processor) may be split into a plurality of apparatuses (orprocessors). Alternatively, the configuration described as a pluralityof apparatuses (or processors) may be integrated into a single apparatus(or processor). Moreover, a configuration other than those discussedabove may be included in the above-described configuration of eachapparatus (or each processor). If the configuration and the operation ofa system as a whole is substantially the same, part of the configurationof an apparatus (or processor) may be added to the configuration ofanother apparatus (or another processor). The embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited to the above-described embodiments, butvarious modifications can be made in a range not departing from the gistof the present disclosure.

8. Eighth Embodiment

The image encoding device and the image decoding device according to theabove-described embodiments can be applied to various electronicapparatuses such as a transmitter or a receiver that distributes signalson cable broadcasting (such as satellite broadcasting or a cable TV) oron the Internet and distributes signals to a terminal by cellularcommunication, a recording device that records images on a medium suchas an optical disc, a magnetic disk, or a flash memory, or a reproducingdevice that reproduces images from these storage media. Four applicationexamples will be described below.

First Application Example: Television Apparatus

FIG. 96 illustrates an example of a schematic configuration of atelevision apparatus to which the above-described embodiment is applied.A television apparatus 900 includes an antenna 901, a tuner 902, ademultiplexer 903, a decoder 904, a video signal processor 905, adisplay unit 906, an audio signal processor 907, a speaker 908, anexternal interface 909, a control unit 910, a user interface 911, and abus 912.

The tuner 902 extracts a signal of a desired channel from a broadcastsignal received via the antenna 901 and demodulates the extractedsignal. Then, the tuner 902 outputs an encoded bit stream obtained bydemodulation to the demultiplexer 903. That is, the tuner 902 serves astransmitting means in the television apparatus 900, which receives theencoded stream in which the image is encoded.

The demultiplexer 903 separates a video stream and an audio stream of aprogram to be watched from the encoded bit stream and outputs eachseparated stream to the decoder 904. Moreover, the demultiplexer 903extracts auxiliary data such as EPG (Electronic Program Guide) from theencoded bit stream and supplies the extracted data to the control unit910. The demultiplexer 903 may descramble when the encoded bit stream isscrambled.

The decoder 904 decodes the video stream and the audio stream input fromthe demultiplexer 903. Then, the decoder 904 outputs video datagenerated by a decoding process to the video signal processor 905.Moreover, the decoder 904 outputs audio data generated by the decodingprocess to the audio signal processor 907.

The video signal processor 905 reproduces the video data input from thedecoder 904 and allows the display unit 906 to display video. The videosignal processor 905 may also allow the display unit 906 to display anapplication screen supplied via the network. The video signal processor905 may also perform an additional process such as noise removal, forexample, to the video data according to setting. Further, the videosignal processor 905 may generate a GUI (Graphical User Interface) imagesuch as a menu, a button, and a cursor, for example, and superimpose thegenerated image on an output image.

The display unit 906 is driven by a drive signal supplied from the videosignal processor 905 to display the video or image on a video screen ofa display device (for example, a liquid crystal display, a plasmadisplay, an OELD (Organic ElectroLuminescence Display (organic ELdisplay) and the like).

The audio signal processor 907 performs a reproducing process such asD/A conversion and amplification on the audio data input from thedecoder 904 and allows the speaker 908 to output the audio. The audiosignal processor 907 may also perform an additional process such as thenoise removal to the audio data.

The external interface 909 is the interface for connecting thetelevision apparatus 900 and an external device or the network. Forexample, the video stream or the audio stream received via the externalinterface 909 may be decoded by the decoder 904. That is, the externalinterface 909 also serves as the transmitting means in the televisionapparatus 900, which receives the encoded stream in which the image isencoded.

The control unit 910 includes a processor such as a CPU and a memorysuch as a RAM and a ROM. The memory stores the program executed by theCPU, program data, the EPG data, data obtained via the network and thelike. The program stored in the memory is read by the CPU at startup ofthe television apparatus 900 to be executed, for example. The CPUcontrols operation of the television apparatus 900 according to anoperation signal input from the user interface 911, for example, byexecuting the program.

The user interface 911 is connected to the control unit 910. The userinterface 911 includes a button and a switch for the user to operate thetelevision apparatus 900, a receiver of a remote control signal and thelike, for example. The user interface 911 detects the operation input bythe user via the components to generate the operation signal and outputsthe generated operation signal to the control unit 910.

The bus 912 connects the tuner 902, the demultiplexer 903, the decoder904, the video signal processor 905, the audio signal processor 907, theexternal interface 909, and the control unit 910 to one another.

In the television apparatus 900 configured in this manner, the decoder904 has the functions of the image decoding device 50 according to theabove-described embodiment. Therefore, when images are decoded in thetelevision apparatus 900, a decrease in the encoding efficiency can besuppressed.

Second Application Example: Mobile Phone

FIG. 97 illustrates an example of a schematic configuration of a mobilephone to which the above-described embodiment is applied. A mobile phone920 includes an antenna 921, a communication unit 922, an audio codec923, a speaker 924, a microphone 925, a camera unit 926, an imageprocessor 927, a multiplexing/separating unit 928, arecording/reproducing unit 929, a display unit 930, a control unit 931,an operation unit 932, and a bus 933.

The antenna 921 is connected to the communication unit 922. The speaker924 and the microphone 925 are connected to the audio codec 923. Theoperation unit 932 is connected to the control unit 931. The bus 933connects the communication unit 922, the audio codec 923, the cameraunit 926, the image processor 927, the multiplexing/separating unit 928,the recording/reproducing unit 929, the display unit 930, and thecontrol unit 931 to one another.

The mobile phone 920 performs operation such as transmission/receptionof an audio signal, transmission/reception of an e-mail or image data,image taking, and recording of data in various operation modes includingan audio communication mode, a data communication mode, an imaging mode,and a television-phone mode.

In the audio communication mode, an analog audio signal generated by themicrophone 925 is supplied to the audio codec 923. The audio codec 923converts the analog audio signal to the audio data and A/D converts theconverted audio data to compress. Then, the audio codec 923 outputs thecompressed audio data to the communication unit 922. The communicationunit 922 encodes and modulates the audio data to generate a transmissionsignal. Then, the communication unit 922 transmits the generatedtransmission signal to a base station (not illustrated) via the antenna921. Moreover, the communication unit 922 amplifies a wireless signalreceived via the antenna 921 and applies frequency conversion to thesame to obtain a reception signal. Then, the communication unit 922generates the audio data by demodulating and decoding the receptionsignal and outputs the generated audio data to the audio codec 923. Theaudio codec 923 expands the audio data and D/A converts the same togenerate the analog audio signal. Then, the audio codec 923 supplies thegenerated audio signal to the speaker 924 to output the audio.

In the data communication mode, for example, the control unit 931generates character data composing the e-mail according to the operationby the user via the operation unit 932. Moreover, the control unit 931allows the display unit 930 to display characters. The control unit 931generates e-mail data according to a transmission instruction from theuser via the operation unit 932 to output the generated e-mail data tothe communication unit 922. The communication unit 922 encodes andmodulates the e-mail data to generate the transmission signal. Then, thecommunication unit 922 transmits the generated transmission signal tothe base station (not illustrated) via the antenna 921. Moreover, thecommunication unit 922 amplifies the wireless signal received via theantenna 921 and applies the frequency conversion to the same to obtainthe reception signal. Then, the communication unit 922 demodulates anddecodes the reception signal to restore the e-mail data and outputs therestored e-mail data to the control unit 931. The control unit 931allows the display unit 930 to display contents of the e-mail data andallows the storage medium of the recording/reproducing unit 929 to storethe e-mail data.

The recording/reproducing unit 929 includes an arbitraryreadable/writable storage medium. For example, the storage medium may bea built-in storage medium such as the RAM and the flash memory and maybe an externally-mounted storage medium such as the hard disc, themagnetic disc, the magneto-optical disc, the optical disc, a USB(Unallocated Space Bitmap) memory, and a memory card.

In the imaging mode, for example, the camera unit 926 takes an image ofan object to generate the image data and outputs the generated imagedata to the image processor 927. The image processor 927 encodes theimage data input from the camera unit 926 and stores the encoded streamin the storage medium of the recording/reproducing unit 929.

Moreover, in the television-phone mode, for example, themultiplexing/separating unit 928 multiplexes the video stream encoded bythe image processor 927 and the audio stream input from the audio codec923 and outputs the multiplexed stream to the communication unit 922.The communication unit 922 encodes and modulates the stream to generatethe transmission signal. Then, the communication unit 922 transmits thegenerated transmission signal to the base station (not illustrated) viathe antenna 921. Moreover, the communication unit 922 amplifies thewireless signal received via the antenna 921 and applies the frequencyconversion to the same to obtain the reception signal. The transmissionsignal and the reception signal may include the encoded bit stream.Then, the communication unit 922 restores the stream by demodulating anddecoding the reception signal and outputs the restored stream to themultiplexing/separating unit 928. The multiplexing/separating unit 928separates the video stream and the audio stream from the input streamand outputs the video stream and the audio stream to the image processor927 and the audio codec 923, respectively. The image processor 927decodes the video stream to generate the video data. The video data issupplied to the display unit 930 and a series of images is displayed bythe display unit 930. The audio codec 923 expands the audio stream andD/A converts the same to generate the analog audio signal. Then, theaudio codec 923 supplies the generated audio signal to the speaker 924to output the audio.

In the mobile phone 920 configured in this manner, the image processor927 has the functions of the image encoding device 10 and the imagedecoding device 50 according to the above-described embodiment.Therefore, when images are encoded and decoded in the mobile phone 920,a decrease in the encoding efficiency can be suppressed.

Third Application Example: Recording/Reproducing Apparatus

FIG. 98 illustrates an example of a schematic configuration of therecording/reproducing apparatus to which the above-described embodimentis applied. The recording/reproducing apparatus 940 encodes the audiodata and the video data of a received broadcast program and records theencoded data on the recording medium, for example. Moreover, therecording/reproducing apparatus 940 may encode the audio data and thevideo data obtained from another apparatus and record the encoded dataon the recording medium, for example. Moreover, therecording/reproducing apparatus 940 reproduces the data recorded on therecording medium by a monitor and the speaker according to theinstruction of the user. In this case, the recording/reproducingapparatus 940 decodes the audio data and the video data.

The recording/reproducing apparatus 940 includes a tuner 941, anexternal interface 942, an encoder 943, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 944, adisc drive 945, a selector 946, a decoder 947, an OSD (On-ScreenDisplay) 948, a control unit 949, and a user interface 950.

The tuner 941 extracts a signal of a desired channel from the broadcastsignal received via an antenna (not illustrated) and demodulates theextracted signal. Then, the tuner 941 outputs the encoded bit streamobtained by the demodulation to the selector 946. That is, the tuner 941serves as the transmitting means in the recording/reproducing apparatus940.

The external interface 942 is the interface for connecting therecording/reproducing apparatus 940 and the external device or thenetwork. The external interface 942 may be an IEEE1394 interface, anetwork interface, a USB interface, a flash memory interface and thelike, for example. For example, the video data and the audio datareceived via the external interface 942 are input to the encoder 943.That is, the external interface 942 serves as the transmitting means inthe recording/reproducing apparatus 940.

The encoder 943 encodes the video data and the audio data when the videodata and the audio data input from the external interface 942 are notencoded. Then, the encoder 943 outputs the encoded bit stream to theselector 946.

The HDD 944 records the encoded bit stream in which content data such asthe video and the audio are compressed, various programs and other dataon an internal hard disc. The HDD 944 reads the data from the hard discwhen reproducing the video and the audio.

The disc drive 945 records and reads the data on and from the mountedrecording medium. The recording medium mounted on the disc drive 945 maybe the DVD disc (DVD-Video, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW andthe like), a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc and the like, forexample.

The selector 946 selects the encoded bit stream input from the tuner 941or the encoder 943 and outputs the selected encoded bit stream to theHDD 944 or the disc drive 945 when recording the video and the audio.Moreover, the selector 946 outputs the encoded bit stream input from theHDD 944 or the disc drive 945 to the decoder 947 when reproducing thevideo and the audio.

The decoder 947 decodes the encoded bit stream to generate the videodata and the audio data. Then, the decoder 947 outputs the generatedvideo data to the OSD 948. Moreover, the decoder 904 outputs thegenerated audio data to an external speaker.

The OSD 948 reproduces the video data input from the decoder 947 todisplay the video. The OSD 948 may also superimpose the GUI image suchas the menu, the button, and the cursor, for example, on the displayedvideo.

The control unit 949 includes the processor such as the CPU and thememory such as the RAM and ROM. The memory stores the program executedby the CPU, the program data and the like. The program stored in thememory is read by the CPU to be executed at startup of therecording/reproducing apparatus 940, for example. The CPU controlsoperation of the recording/reproducing apparatus 940 according to anoperation signal input from the user interface 950, for example, byexecuting the program.

The user interface 950 is connected to the control unit 949. The userinterface 950 includes a button and a switch for the user to operate therecording/reproducing apparatus 940 and a receiver of a remote controlsignal, for example. The user interface 950 detects operation by theuser via the components to generate the operation signal and outputs thegenerated operation signal to the control unit 949.

In the recording/reproducing apparatus 940 configured in this manner,the encoder 943 has the functions of the image encoding device 10according to the above-described embodiment. Moreover, the decoder 947has the functions of the image decoding device 50 according to theabove-described embodiment. Therefore, when images are encoded anddecoded in the recording/reproducing apparatus 940, a decreased in theencoding efficiency can be suppressed.

Fourth Application Example: Imaging Apparatus

FIG. 99 illustrates an example of a schematic configuration of animaging apparatus to which the above-described embodiment is applied. Animaging apparatus 960 images an object to generate the image, encodesthe image data and records the encoded data on a recording medium.

The imaging apparatus 960 includes an optical block 961, an imaging unit962, a signal processor 963, an image processor 964, a display unit 965,an external interface 966, a memory 967, a media drive 968, an OSD 969,a control unit 970, a user interface 971, and a bus 972.

The optical block 961 is connected to the imaging unit 962. The imagingunit 962 is connected to the signal processor 963. The display unit 965is connected to the image processor 964. The user interface 971 isconnected to the control unit 970. The bus 972 connects the imageprocessor 964, the external interface 966, the memory 967, the mediadrive 968, the OSD 969, and the control unit 970 to one another.

The optical block 961 includes a focus lens, a diaphragm mechanism, andthe like. The optical block 961 forms an optical image of the object onan imaging surface of the imaging unit 962. The imaging unit 962includes an image sensor such as a CCD (charge coupled device) and aCMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) and converts the opticalimage formed on the imaging surface to an image signal as an electricsignal by photoelectric conversion. Then, the imaging unit 962 outputsthe image signal to the signal processor 963.

The signal processor 963 performs various camera signal processes suchas knee correction, gamma correction, and color correction on the imagesignal input from the imaging unit 962. The signal processor 963 outputsthe image data after the camera signal process to the image processor964.

The image processor 964 encodes the image data input from the signalprocessor 963 to generate the encoded data. Then, the image processor964 outputs the generated encoded data to the external interface 966 orthe media drive 968. Moreover, the image processor 964 decodes theencoded data input from the external interface 966 or the media drive968 to generate the image data. Then, the image processor 964 outputsthe generated image data to the display unit 965. The image processor964 may also output the image data input from the signal processor 963to the display unit 965 to display the image. The image processor 964may also superimpose data for display obtained from the OSD 969 on theimage output to the display unit 965.

The OSD 969 generates the GUI image such as the menu, the button, andthe cursor, for example, and outputs the generated image to the imageprocessor 964.

The external interface 966 is configured as an USB input/outputterminal, for example. The external interface 966 connects the imagingapparatus 960 and a printer when printing the image, for example.Moreover, a drive is connected to the external interface 966 asnecessary. The removable medium such as the magnetic disc and theoptical disc is mounted on the drive, for example, and the program readfrom the removable medium may be installed on the imaging apparatus 960.Further, the external interface 966 may be configured as a networkinterface connected to the network such as a LAN and the Internet. Thatis, the external interface 966 serves as the transmitting means in theimaging apparatus 960.

The recording medium mounted on the media drive 968 may be an arbitraryreadable/writable removable medium such as the magnetic disc, themagneto-optical disc, the optical disc, and the semiconductor memory,for example. Moreover, the recording medium may be fixedly mounted onthe media drive 968 to form a non-portable storage unit such as abuilt-in hard disc drive or SSD (Solid State Drive), for example.

The control unit 970 includes the processor such as the CPU and thememory such as the RAM and the ROM. The memory stores the programexecuted by the CPU and the program data. The program stored in thememory is read by the CPU to be executed at startup of the imagingapparatus 960, for example. The CPU controls operation of the imagingapparatus 960 according to the operation signal input from the userinterface 971, for example, by executing the program.

The user interface 971 is connected to the control unit 970. The userinterface 971 includes a button, a switch and the like for the user tooperate the imaging apparatus 960, for example. The user interface 971detects the operation by the user via the components to generate theoperation signal and outputs the generated operation signal to thecontrol unit 970.

In the imaging apparatus 960 configured in this manner, the imageprocessor 964 has the functions of the image encoding device 10 and theimage decoding device 50 according to the above-described embodiment.Therefore, when images are encoded and decoded in the imaging apparatus960, a decrease in the encoding efficiency can be suppressed.

In the present specification, an example in which various types ofinformation such as threshold values are multiplexed into headers andare transmitted from the encoding side to the decoding side has beendescribed. However, a method of transmitting these items of informationis not limited to this example. For example, these items of informationmay be transmitted or recorded as separate data associated with theencoded bit stream rather than being multiplexed into the encoded bitstream. Here, the term “associate” means that the image (or part of theimage such as a slice and a block) included in the bit stream andinformation corresponding to the image can be linked with each other atthe time of decoding. That is, the information may be transmitted on atransmission line other than that of the image (or bit stream).Moreover, the information may be recorded on another recording medium(or another recording area of the same recording medium) other than thatof the image (or bit stream). Further, the information and the image (orbit stream) may be associated with each other in optional units such asa plurality of frames, one frame, or a part of the frame, for example.

While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have beendescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, thepresent disclosure is not limited to the embodiments. Those skilled inthe art will readily appreciate that various modifications and changesmay be made in the embodiment without departing from the technicalspirit as described in the claims. Accordingly, all such modificationsand changes are intended to be included within the scope of the presentdisclosure as defined in the claims.

The present technology may include the following constitutions.

(1) An image processing device including:

a predictive vector generating unit that generates a predictive vectorof a current parallax vector of a current block used in prediction usingcorrelation in a parallax direction using a reference parallax vectorreferred when generating a predictive motion vector, when encoding thecurrent parallax vector; and

a difference vector generating unit that generates a difference vectorbetween the current parallax vector and the predictive vector generatedby the predictive vector generating unit.

(2) The image processing device according to (1), wherein

the predictive vector generating unit generates a predictive vector ofthe current parallax vector using a parallax vector of a co-locatedblock included in a co-located picture of a time different from acurrent picture of the same view as a current view.

(3) The image processing device according to (2), wherein

the predictive vector generating unit sets the co-located block to beavailable when a property of a vector of the current block is identicalto a property of a vector of the co-located block.

(4) The image processing device according to (3), wherein

the property of the vector is a type of a vector, and

the predictive vector generating unit sets the co-located block to beavailable when the property of the vector of the current block is aparallax vector and the property of the vector of the co-located blockis a parallax vector.

(5) The image processing device according to (3) or (4), wherein

the predictive motion vector generating unit determines the property ofthe vector of the current block and the property of the vector of theco-located block using POC (Picture Order Count) that indicates anoutput order of pictures.

(6) The image processing device according to (5), wherein

the predictive motion vector generating unit determines the property ofthe vector of the current block and the property of the vector of theco-located block using the POC of the current picture, the POC of acurrent reference picture referred from the current picture, the POC ofthe co-located picture, and the POC of a co-located reference picturereferred from the co-located picture.

(7) The image processing device according to (6), wherein

the predictive motion vector generating unit determines that theproperty of the vector of the current block and the property of thevector of the co-located block are parallax vectors when the POC of thecurrent picture is identical to the POC of the current reference picturereferred from the current picture and the POC of the co-located pictureis identical to the POC of the co-located reference picture referredfrom the co-located picture.

(8) The image processing device according to any of (2) to (7), wherein

the predictive vector generating unit sets the co-located block to benot available when the property of the vector of the current block isdifferent from the property of the vector of the co-located block.

(9) The image processing device according to (8), wherein

the property of the vector is a type of a reference picture, and

the predictive vector generating unit sets the co-located block to benot available when the type of the reference picture of the currentblock is different from the type of the reference picture of theco-located block.

(10) The image processing device according to (8) or (9), wherein

the property of the vector is a type of a reference picture, and

the predictive vector generating unit skips a process of searching areference index when the type of the reference picture of the currentblock is a long reference type and the type of the reference picture ofthe co-located block is a long reference type.

(11) The image processing device according to any of (1) to (10),wherein

the predictive vector generating unit generates a predictive vector ofthe current parallax vector using a parallax vector of a reference blockincluded in a picture of the same time as a current picture of a viewdifferent from the current view.

(12) The image processing device according to any of (1) to (11),wherein

the predictive vector generating unit scales the reference parallaxvector based on a positional relationship between a current picture anda reference picture referred when generating a predictive motion vectorto generate a predictive vector of the current parallax vector.

(13) The image processing device according to any of (1) to (12),wherein

the predictive vector generating unit generates a predictive vector ofthe current motion vector using a reference motion vector referred whengenerating a predictive motion vector, when encoding the current motionvector of the current block used in prediction using correlation in atemporal direction, and the difference vector generating unit generatesa difference vector between the current motion vector and the predictivevector generated by the predictive vector generating unit.

(14) The image processing device according to (13), wherein

the predictive vector generating unit generates the predictive vector ofthe current motion vector using a motion vector of the reference blockincluded in a picture of the same time as the current picture of a viewdifferent from the current view.

(15) The image processing device according to (13) or (14), wherein

the predictive vector generating unit generates a predictive vector ofthe current motion vector using a motion vector of a reference blockincluded in a picture of a time different from the current picture ofthe same view as the current view.

(16) The image processing device according to (15), wherein

the predictive vector generating unit scales the reference motion vectorbased on a positional relationship between the current picture and areference picture referred when generating a predictive motion vector togenerate a predictive vector of the current motion vector.

(17) The image processing device according to any of (1) to (16),wherein

the predictive vector generating unit generates the predictive vectorusing a vector of a block located at the same position as the currentblock in a state where a position of a pixel of a picture of the sametime as the current picture of a view different from the current view isshifted.

(18) The image processing device according to (17), wherein

the predictive vector generating unit sets a shift amount of the imageaccording to a parallax vector of a neighboring region of the currentblock.

(19) The image processing device according to (18), wherein

the predictive vector generating unit uses a parallax vector in anX-direction, of the neighboring block in which the value of a parallaxvector in a Y-direction is not zero as the shift amount.

(20) The image processing device according to (18) or (19), wherein

the predictive vector generating unit uses a value calculated fromparallax vectors in an X-direction, of a plurality of the neighboringblocks in which the value of a parallax vector in a Y-direction is notzero as the shift amount.

(21) The image processing device according to (20), wherein

the predictive vector generating unit uses an average value or a medianvalue of the parallax vectors in the X-direction, of the plurality ofthe neighboring blocks in which the value of the parallax vector in theY-direction is not zero as the shift amount of the image.

(22) The image processing device according to any of (17) to (21),wherein

the predictive vector generating unit sets the shift amount of the imageaccording to a global parallax vector.

(23) An image processing method of an image processing device, forallowing the image processing device to execute:

generating a predictive vector of a current parallax vector of a currentblock used in prediction using correlation in a parallax direction usinga reference parallax vector referred when generating a predictive motionvector, when encoding the current parallax vector; and

generating a difference vector between the current parallax vector andthe generated predictive vector.

(24) An image processing device including:

a predictive vector generating unit that generates a predictive vectorof a current parallax vector of a current block used in prediction usingcorrelation in a parallax direction using a reference parallax vectorreferred when generating a predictive motion vector, when decoding thecurrent parallax vector; and

an arithmetic unit that performs an operation of adding the predictivevector generated by the predictive vector generating unit to adifference vector between the current parallax vector and the predictivevector to reconstruct the current parallax vector.

(25) An image processing method of an image processing device, forallowing the image processing device to execute:

generating a predictive vector of a current parallax vector of a currentblock used in prediction using correlation in a parallax direction usinga reference parallax vector referred when generating a predictive motionvector, when decoding the current parallax vector; and

performing an operation of adding the generated predictive vector to adifference vector between the current parallax vector and the predictivevector to reconstruct the current parallax vector.

(26) An image processing device including:

a predictive vector generating unit that sets a co-located block to benot available when a type of a reference picture of a current block isdifferent from a type of the reference picture of a co-located blockincluded in a co-located picture of a different time from a currentpicture when encoding a current motion vector of the current block usedin prediction using correlation in a temporal direction and generates apredictive vector of the current motion vector using a reference motionvector referred when generating a predictive motion vector; and

a difference vector generating unit that generates a difference vectorbetween the current motion vector and the predictive vector generated bythe predictive vector generating unit.

(27) An image processing method of an image processing device, forallowing the image processing device to execute:

setting a co-located block to be not available when a type of areference picture of a current block is different from a type of thereference picture of a co-located block included in a co-located pictureof a different time from a current picture when encoding a currentmotion vector of the current block used in prediction using correlationin a temporal direction, and generating a predictive vector of thecurrent motion vector using a reference motion vector referred whengenerating a predictive motion vector; and

generating a difference vector between the current motion vector and thegenerated predictive vector.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   100 Image encoding device-   115 Motion parallax prediction/compensation unit-   121 Multi-view decoded picture buffer-   131 Motion parallax vector search unit-   132 Predicted image generating unit-   133 Encoded information accumulation buffer-   134 Selector-   135 Spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit-   136 Temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit-   137 Selector-   138 Encoding cost calculating unit-   139 Mode determining unit-   151 Current region processor-   152 Correlation region processor-   153 L1-prediction processor-   154 L0-prediction processor-   155 Scheme-1 processor-   156 Scheme-2 processor-   157 Scheme-3 processor-   158 Scheme-4 processor-   159 Predictive vector generating unit-   300 Image decoding device-   312 Motion parallax compensation unit-   321 Decoded multi-view picture buffer-   331 Encoded information accumulation buffer-   332 Spatial correlation predictive vector generating unit-   333 Temporal parallax correlation predictive vector generating unit-   334 Selector-   335 Arithmetic unit-   336 Predicted image generating unit-   400 Image encoding device-   415 Motion prediction/compensation unit-   421 Base view encoder-   433, 434 Vector predicting unit-   457 Different picture-based predictive vector generating unit-   471 Parallax vector determining unit-   472 Inter-view reference vector generating unit-   473 Intra-view reference vector generating unit-   500 Image decoding device-   512 Motion compensation unit-   521 Base view decoder-   533, 534 Vector decoding unit-   553 Different picture-based predictive vector generating unit-   571 Parallax vector determining unit-   572 Inter-view reference vector generating unit-   573 Intra-view reference vector generating unit

The invention claimed is:
 1. An image processing device comprising:circuitry configured to operate as: a predictive motion vectorgenerating unit that: sets a co-located vector to be available and to bescaled in a candidate list as a condition that both a type of areference picture of a current block and a type of a reference pictureof a co-located block are short-term reference pictures; sets theco-located vector to be available and to be not scaled in the candidatelist as a condition that both the type of the reference picture of thecurrent block and the type of the reference picture of the co-locatedblock are long-term reference pictures; and generates a predictivemotion vector of a coding vector of the current block using thecandidate list; and an encoding unit that encodes the current block andthe coding vector generated using the predictive motion vector.
 2. Theimage processing device according to claim 1, wherein the predictivemotion vector generating unit scales the co-located vector based on apositional relationship between a current picture and the referencepicture referred to generate the predictive motion vector of the codingvector.
 3. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein thecircuitry comprises a Central Processing Unit (CPU).
 4. The imageprocessing device according to claim 1, wherein the encoding unit uses amerge mode to encode the coding vector.
 5. The image processing deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the encoding unit uses an AMVP mode toencode the coding vector.
 6. An image processing method performed by animage processing device, comprising: setting a co-located vector to beavailable and to be scaled in a candidate list as a condition that botha type of a reference picture of a current block and a type of areference picture of a co-located block are short-term referencepictures; setting the co-located vector to be available and to be notscaled in the candidate list as a condition that both the type of thereference picture of the current block and the type of the referencepicture of the co-located block are long-term reference pictures;generating a predictive motion vector of a coding vector of the currentblock using the candidate list; and encoding the current block and thecoding vector generated using the predictive motion vector.
 7. The imageprocessing method according to claim 6, further comprising scaling theco-located vector based on a positional relationship between a currentpicture and the reference picture referred to generate the predictivemotion vector of the coding vector.
 8. The image processing methodaccording to claim 6, further comprising using a Central Processing Unit(CPU).
 9. The image processing method according to claim 6, furthercomprising using a merge mode to encode the coding vector.
 10. The imageprocessing method according to claim 6, further comprising using an AMVPmode to encode the coding vector.
 11. At least one non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium having instructions recorded thereonwhich, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform amethod comprising: setting a co-located vector to be available and to bescaled in a candidate list as a condition that both a type of areference picture of a current block and a type of a reference pictureof a co-located block are short-term reference pictures; setting theco-located vector to be available and to be not scaled in the candidatelist as a condition that both the type of the reference picture of thecurrent block and the type of the reference picture of the co-locatedblock are long-term reference pictures; generating a predictive motionvector of a coding vector of the current block using the candidate list;and encoding the current block and the coding vector generated using thepredictive motion vector.
 12. The at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium according to claim 11, the methodfurther comprising scaling the co-located vector based on a positionalrelationship between a current picture and the reference picturereferred to generate the predictive motion vector of the coding vector.13. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumaccording to claim 11, the method further comprising using a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU).
 14. The at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium according to claim 11, the methodfurther comprising using a merge mode to encode the coding vector. 15.The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumaccording to claim 11, the method further comprising using an AMVP modeto encode the coding vector.